


The Lion's Den

by Apples_Little_Corner



Series: The Lion's Den [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Coffee Shop, Gangs, M/M, Mafia AU, Modern AU, Police, Voltron, klance, lance pov, mafia
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-03
Updated: 2016-12-30
Packaged: 2018-08-28 18:28:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 9
Words: 25,852
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8457235
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Apples_Little_Corner/pseuds/Apples_Little_Corner
Summary: In a fight to protect the city of Voltron from Zarkon and his Mafia Empire, Altea (an old, once thought defeated Galra mafia enemy) as sprung from the ashes with a new leader. Lance, a member/paladin of this group works with his friends, Hunk, Pidge, and Shiro to take Galra down. When it is decided that a new member should join them, Lance has his suspicions, especially when the new member used to be part of the Galra Mafia. Learning to trust this new member, will the group finally take down Zarkon and save their families, or will this lead to their untimely demise...





	1. At Gunpoint

**Author's Note:**

> Excited for the new season of Voltron, I decided to start up this new fanfic. This is a modern mafia AU and I hope that you enjoy it. It will mainly take place from Lance's POV. While I plan for this fic to be around 25 chapters (having finished the outlines for 10 of them) I'll do my best to upload a chapter as soon as I can. Feel free to leave a comment if you wish and enjoy~

“Blue, what’s your status?” called a voice from the throat comm. Lance lightly pressed the mic button on his neck to answer.

“Single, young, attractive,” he replied, “Free for casual dating, but I’m not afraid of commitment.”

“…..I meant your position, Blue,” they corrected. “And I swear to god, if you make the mistake of giving me another suggestive answer, I will fucking snipe you.”

“ _Language_ , Green,” warned a deeper voice from another line. “And Blue, now is not the time to mess around.”

“Okay,” both agreed reluctantly. Lance took a look around the small alley he was hiding in. With no sign of enemy guards he inched closer to his assigned starting point.

“Everyone report your positions,” Green ordered.

“I’m ready to go,” Lance reported. “Galra guards are not set to sweep this area for another 20 minutes, so I’m in the clear.”

“Good, Black?”

“Almost at my position, some of Zarkon’s men are in my way right now, but they’re moving,” answered the deeper voice from before.

“Yellow?”

“Uh...Y-yeah, ready.”

“You okay, buddy?” asked Lance, picking up the tone of nervousness.

“Yeah, it’s just, this mission is really important, but I think it might be too dangerous,” Yellow confessed. “I mean you and Black are really good, but with all these guards around….I just hope you don’t get hurt…or worse.”

“Ohhh _Buddy_ ….,”Lance replied tearfully, placing his hand over his heart. “Don’t worry, we got this. You just stay safe on your end and when it’s all done, we’ll go out for gyros.”

“ _On the corner of 3rd and Bridge Street?_ ”

“Only the finest street meat for my best partner.”

“I hate to ruin this ‘moment’ you two are having, but I need you to focus,” Green cut in.

“Awe, don’t be like that Pidge,” Lance whined. “You can join us if you want.”

“Green! My code name is green!” Pidge hissed. “Dammit Lance-

“ **Language** ,” Black warned.

“Sorry Shiro….but seriously Lance, what was the point of having you come up with the codenames when you’re not going to use them?” Pidge frustratingly questioned.

“Okay, okay, my bad. I’ll use the code names. Please continue Green.”

“Fine. Yellow is waiting in the van ready to pick you both up when you and Black are done,” she continued. “Remember, you two go in, plant the bomb, and get out. Don’t get caught by the guards. Exit the complex within 3 minutes of planting the bomb. Hunk picks you up. Galra’s shipment of illegal weapons are destroyed. Mission success. Get it?”

“Got it,” Lance and Shiro both answered. Lance did one more safety sweep of his area. The alley he was in was filthy and dark, even during midday. The weather was hot and was almost unbearable due to his uniform which consisted of dark pants, black sneakers, a long-sleeved thick black shirt, gloves, and a vest full of pockets that carried emergency equipment. Sweat ran down from his brow as he laid his back against the wall of the apartment complex used as a front for one of the secret Galra Mafia bases. After checking his glock pistol to confirm that the clip was full, he pulled up his face mask. It was essential to complete this infiltration without getting caught. Keeping suspicion away from their group made it easier to complete future missions without having to constantly defend themselves from Galra goons. 

According to information Pidge collected from their last reconnaissance, the Galra mafia had just received a large batch of illegal firearms. Such a strong artillery in the hands of this mafia would lead to nothing but devastation and make them harder to take on. Lance waited silently for Pidge’s go signal. As their informant and sniper, Pidge was most likely far from the scene looking at them from the rooftop or room of another building with her Remington 700. While rarely needing to use it, it was still modified with a recoil compensating stock and supported with a bipod to keep her collarbone in check, a modification that would have been nice to have when Lance took a try at shooting it and took the full force of the blow back. Wincing at the memory, Lance rubbed his shoulder and glanced at the window he was going to crawl through. 

“Okay, on my signal, I’ll detonate the distraction and you go in,” Pidge instructed. “….ready……NOW!”

Nearby the building was the sound of random gunfire, coming from the distraction mechanism planted before that was equipped with an automated pistol filled with blanks. The Galra guards in the building made their move out to find who was shooting. Getting close to the mechanism, a tear gas bomb was released, leaving the guards blinded and in pain. With the halls of the complex empty, Shiro and Lance entered and made their way to the shipment which was located in the basement. While many of the Galra henchmen were outside, the two had to keep an eye out for any remaining thugs. Lance spotted two of them at the end of a hallway and waited for the right moment to take them down. He kept himself flat against a wall and waited for them to turn the corner toward him. Once one of the guards was in sight, Lance blindsided with him a fast jab to his face before grabbing the back of his head and ramming it into the wall he was once resting upon. As he turned to take the second guard out, he found himself compromised as he was quickly pinned against the same wall; the forearm of the guard pressing hard against his neck. Gasping for breath and struggling to fight back, Lance was surprised when the guard choking him was knocked out by Shiro who bashed the side of his head with his pistol that was the same kind as Lance’s. He was wearing the same uniform as Lance, but held a utility belt instead of a vest.

“Hey stranger,” Lance weakly greeted with a cough, still trying to catch his breath. “Oh look. You took him down. That’s cool, cause like….I totally had it covered, but who am I to take away your thunder, am I right?”

With a quick sigh, Shiro signaled Lance to follow him.

“The basement is over here,” he instructed. “Stay at my back and keep me covered. Don’t stray too far.”

“You got it,” Lance agreed. The duo was close to the basement stairway when they heard the guards that were outside come back inside.

“Black! Blue! The distraction wasn’t long enough!” Pidge warned. “They’ve gotten suspicious and are heading back inside!”

“No worries Green, I got this,” Lance reported back before turning to Shiro. “Black, I’ll lead them upstairs. You go into the basement and plant the bomb. I’ll keep them distracted as long as possible.”

Before he could turn to run, Shiro grabbed his shoulder and turned him back to face him.

“Are you sure, Blue?” Shiro whispered. “It’s a good plan, but it’s extremely dangerous.”

“I’ll be okay,” he assured him. “I didn’t join his group to stay safe and sound and drink coffee all day. Leave it to me.”

Shiro stared at Lance with a piercing gaze. Lance always got nervous when Shiro would stare him down, but taking into consideration the situation, he understood. Lance meet this stare with a serious cool gaze and Shiro nodded, letting him go. 

Lance ran toward the entrance and got the attention of the entering guards. He fired two rounds at them before running to the inner stairway and making his way up the floor levels.

“Get him!” ordered one of the goons. Lance ran up the steps two at a time, thankful that he never skipped a day of cardio. One of the guards shot at Lance, grazing his arm. 

“Ah! **Chinga tu madre, pinche cabron!** ” Lance cussed in pain. He held his arm and shot back before continuing to take the enemies further away from the basement. As if on cue, Shiro reported in.

“Blue, the bomb has been planted, we got 3 minutes,” Shiro informed from the communication device. “Get out and get out fast.”

“Okay,” Lance confirmed, trying not to sound like he didn’t just get shot. Once near the top floor, he took out a tear gas bomb from his vest and threw it down. The guards yelled in pain as they were gassed for a second time. Lance took the opportunity to exit the stairway and block the door with the closest piece of furniture. 

Scanning the hall, he saw a window facing a nearby building. Lance ran toward it but was hit in the face from a lone Galra guard that was hiding in one of the apartment rooms. 

“ **Fuck! Vete a la verga!** ” Lance yelled at the guard, holding his face. He turned to aim his gun at the guard, but in a swift motion, his gun was kicked out of his hand and the guard grabbed him, flipping him over and onto the floor. With a thud, Lance was on his back, his vision blurry from the pain. To add insult to injury, his face mask was taken off.

“Who are you and what are you doing here?” the man asked. With his vision clearing up, Lance looked to find him at gunpoint. His current rival stared down at him with a dark glare that could send shivers down your spine. Lance stared back at those blue-grey eyes, returning the glare with an expression that embodied the term “go fuck yourself”. 

“It’s too late,” Lance answered. “In a minute, this place will be blown to nothing but dust. So do your worst asshole.”

The guard cocked his gun and Lance waited for him to shoot. Was this how he was going to die? Not in a blaze of glory, but on his ass defeated by a single Galra piece of shit? If only he didn’t get too cocky and looked at his surrounding before running off. It was too late to think of what ifs now. It was also too late to think about what could be. At the most, he hoped that the rest of the group would be okay and continue their fight against Zarkon and his mafia. The thoughts that entered his mind centered over the team he fought along with. The exciting missions and espionages. The long nights spent investigating together. Pidge and Shiro’s face when he made another bad pun. Hunk laughing and celebrating with him over a successful mission. His family….smiling and welcoming him home…..

The gunshot rang out loud and clear. To his surprise, Lance felt no pain. He then realized it was because the guard shot the carpet next to him. 

“Get the fuck out,” the guard seethed. “Leave now. If I ever see your face again, I won’t miss the next time I have you at gunpoint.”

Confused, Lance watched as the guard left to safety. He got up from the floor to hear Pidge yelling at him from the earpiece.

“ **BLUE! YOU GOT 30 SECONDS!** ” she screamed. With no time to waste, Lance got up, grabbed his gun from the floor and ran toward the window. He jumped out and grabbed onto the neighboring buildings’ outside stair railing. To his dismay, the injury to his arm made him lose his grip and he fell into the dumpster below. 

The sound of screeching tires brought him back to his senses and he climbed out of the dumpster to see Hunk inside the getaway van and Shiro yelling at him to get in. Lance limped towards them and Shiro pulled him in before having Hunk drive away as fast as possible. 

“Lance are you okay?!” Hunk asked worriedly. Before he could answer the sound of the blast erupted and shook them to the core. The windows of the Galra base shattered and fire bloomed from the explosive. The sound of sirens were heard only moments after the explosion. Lance couldn’t help but wonder about the guard he had fought with. The thought of having been beaten by a Galra cohort made his blood boil. It was embarrassing and frustrating that his life was in the hands of a Galra. But he didn’t know what was worse, being beaten, or being let go and having a second chance to live. In the chaos, the three managed to leave the area without being chased. Being in the clear, Shiro turned to Hunk.

“Hunk, drive toward 8th street so that we can get Pidge,” he ordered. “Lance, what happened back there? You took way too long. And where is **your mask**?”

With a nervous laugh, Lance kept his eyes away from Shiro and shrugged.

“Uhhh…..I lost it?”

“…..just wait until the boss hears this,” Shiro sighed. If there was one thing that frightened Lance more than Shiro’s stare, it was an angry Allura.


	2. Punishment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With their newest mission completed, the group meets with Allura in the night to discuss the next plan for Altea. Lance, having messed up in the mission before, worries about what punishment Allura has in store for him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the second chapter! This chapter was fun to write, so I hope you like it! Enjoy~

* * *

“Ow! Hey, hey, hey!” Lance cried out. “Hunk, be careful, I’m really _sensitive_ there.”

“I’m sorry Lance, but I’m doing this as soft and slowly as I can,” Hunk assured. Lance whimpered as Hunk continued.

“Why does it have to _hurt so much_?”

“Don’t worry, you’ll be feeling good soon.”

“Yeah, Lance, stop being a baby about it!” Pidge chipped in. She was sitting nearby the two at a small table, typing profusely on her laptop. The restaurant they were in was dimly lit, having been closed hours before. The shutters on the windows were shut tight and the small open sign had been flipped to “closed”. Lance was seated at the bar with Hunk disinfecting and bandaging his arm for the second time today.

“And done, you’re all patched up,” stated Hunk. Lance pulled down his sleeve, still pouting from the uncomfortable pain. “You’re lucky it just grazed you. Be more careful next time, okay?”

“I will, buddy,” Lance agreed. “I think I’m luckier to have you as my nurse. You’re the only one I can really trust my life with.”

“Well I can’t let my best friend leave me all on my own,” Hunk replied with a small pout.

“Awe~ Come give me a hug, big guy!” Lance exclaimed, holding out his arms. Hunk wrapped his arms around him and gave him a tight hug, leaving the injured Lance gasping for air. 

“I’m surprised you can act so casual Lance,” Pidge interrupted. “Considering that Allura is going to chew you out for almost getting yourself blown up.”

“Pidge, _cálmate_ ,” he insisted as Hunk released him. “The mission was still a success. It’s all good. So what if I took a little long? I got out. So it’s okay. Right, Shiro?”

Behind the bar, Shiro was taking stock of ammo and making sure that their firearms were still in top shape. He paused to look at Lance with one brow raised up higher than the other. 

“I informed Allura of all the details,” he responded. “It’s up to her what she’s going to do with you. You know how important each mission is and why everything must be completed without a hitch. I may be part to blame for letting you take over in distracting the guards, but this cannot happen again. I don’t think Allura, or anyone here can handle losing another member of Altea.”

The room went silent as everyone took in Shiro’s words. Lance leaned on the bar and relaxed as Hunk went to put away the first aid kit. Pidge went back to creating a report about today’s earlier mission. While Altea was a faction that existed long before any of them were born, its numbers were substantially smaller than that of other mafia families. At one point in history, it was the most well-known alliance that provided assistance to the city of Voltron. 

Voltron was the grand capital city of the country. Business thrived in this city and the people who lived here lived in peace and harmony. But it wasn’t long before Voltron was sought after for its major influence and control of neighboring multiple cities. Corporations held their headquarters here and any goods distributed traveled between Voltron’s harbors and freight transport. It was a gold mine of a city, and would lead to nothing but wealth and prosper if controlled. Therefore, the rise of the Galra Empire was imminent, but no one knew it would lead to the fall of Altea.

Lance had only heard rumors and stories of Altea when he first came to Voltron. People reminisced and whispered about it and the tragedy that fell upon the doomed group and its main family. Altea was led by a great man, Alfor, who cared deeply for the people of Voltron. Thanks to his power of persuasion and financial support, multiple corporations were created to aid the sick. One of these corporations was a pharmaceutical filled with the nation’s top researchers in curing diseases once thought to be untreatable and fatal. Business boomed until one of his men betrayed him and created his own faction within the group. 

Zarkon.

Zarkon was the most evil entity alive whose plan only consisted of taking over Voltron and using its resources for his own dark deeds. Altea fell to its knees with hundreds of its men murdered or missing and the death of Alfor. With Altea diminished, Zarkon finished his creation of the Galra Mafia and took hold of their corporations through bribe and threat. What Zarkon never expected was Alfor’s plan to give Altea a second chance.

“Shiro, Lance, Hunk, and Pidge,” announced a voice. The four tuned to see Coran standing by the door to the café basement. “…..Allura wants to see you.”

With a deep breath, Lance got off the bar stool and followed with the others.

When Altea was close to defeat, Alfor had his closest advisor, Coran, trusted with the hope for Altea to live on. His daughter, Allura, was the sole heir if the Altean family and her safety would provide a new legacy. Coran was instructed to take her into hiding and keep her safe from the hands of Zarkon. Her death was faked as to leave no suspicion of her whereabouts. With her father murdered by Zarkon, she harbored more than hatred for the Galra Empire. Before she knew it, she lost her family, and the people of Voltron were now under the fearful control of Zarkon. Not knowing that she is still alive and is hatching a plot for their defeat, the Galra Empire has been in a snag with recent sabotages and complications in their operations. Lance can still remember the words that Allura said to him and the others when they decided to join forces.

**_“No longer shall Altea be the defeated prey. We are predators. Silent, and waiting for the time to attack. We are the lions who will chase away Zarkon and his men from our rightful home…..and our roar will never be ignored….”_ **

The piercing glare in her eyes, backed by will and determination would stay within his memories forever. She was the new leader of Altea, and held this position with dignified intentness. 

Coran opened the door to the basement, having them enter a large stock room. At the end of the stock room was another door that opened to Allura’s office. Pidge, Hunk, and Shiro looked at Lance, expecting him to be the one to open the door and accept his fate. Trying to keep cool, Lance ran his hand through his hair and placed on a signature charming smile before entering. Sitting at her pristine desk, Allura looked up from her files to see Lance and frowned at his cheery demeanor. 

“ _Hey boss~_ ” he greeted, getting closer. “Can I just say….that you are looking amazing today? Did you change anything? Did something with your hair? Whatever it is, it’s working for you. Love that green blouse by the way, it matches your eyes.”

“…my eyes are **blue** , Lance,” Allura replied icily. She folded her arms and leaned back into her chair.

“Yeah..but..uhhh…contrast is really in season right now?” Lance weakly responded. He could hear Pidge and Hunk trying to keep themselves from laughing at him. 

“Enough with the chit chat,” Allura ordered. “Let’s get down to why this meeting is being held.”

She stood up and walked towards a city map that was pinned to one of the walls and held random notes and scribbles. Her black heels softly clacked on the floor; their echo traveling across the room. As the new leader of Altea, Allura maintained the poise and appearance of a mafia boss. Her sleeveless button up blouse was neatly tucked into her charcoal pencil skirt. Her long white hair, perfectly twisted into a clean bun. But no matter what she wore, it was the look in her eyes that kept everyone at attention. She gestured at the map pointing to the base that recently went up in flames.

“Today’s mission was to eradicate the shipment of illegal guns that Galra received from Hyperion city,” she continued. “As I’ve been told, we hit some snags during the mission, but it was still successful. With this shipment gone, we can focus on the harbor base without worrying about defending ourselves from over-ammunition wielding buffoons. Pidge, have you gotten any more information on which of the docks holds the new base?”

“I’ve broken into Galra servers, but the precise location has not been determined,” Pidge answered. “Even normal guards don’t know where it is. Only top tier Galra men have this information and refrain from revealing its existence, even in their documentations.”

“I see,” Allura softly mumbled. “Either way, keep me updated on any new information or shipments they receive. As for you Lance, I heard that you…what was I told…lost your mask?”

Lance winced, knowing he was going to get in trouble.

“Well…you see….it’s just-“

“ **Lance** ,”Allura repeated in a calm yet heavy tone. “Why did it take you so long to escape from the building? 3 minutes was the assigned detonation after confirming that it would take less than 2 minutes to escape.” 

“…..I had trouble with a Galra guard,” he confessed.

“ _A_ Galra guard….so it took only 1 person to stop you?” she questioned.

“No! Yes…but it’s not like that!” he insisted. “Boss, he was not just some plain guard! He was more highly trained than any of the other guys I’ve fought off so far! Look…he caught me by surprise and sucker punched me. I mean, he even took away my mask!”

“……you said you 'lost' your mask….now you’re saying a Galra accomplice took it?” Allura asked, her glare deepening. 

“Lance, did he get a good look at you?” Shiro asked, worried. Realizing he just dug his own grave, Lance surrendered to it all.

“Okay, truth time,” Lance promised. “He had me pinned and took off my mask, but he doesn’t know I’m part of this group. He probably thinks I did the whole thing on my own. Plus, he let me go and ran for safety after I told him about the bomb.”

The room was deadly silent before Allura walked back to her desk and sat down.

“Lance, this is serious,” she said, but her tone changed from deadly to concerned. “You’re beyond lucky to be alive right now if what you said is true. Our team cannot function unless everyone is present. That includes you. In fact, from this mission, I can conclude that we may need more help. For now….there is your punishment. You will be working overtime for the next 3 weeks. And no missions during that time. All reconnaissance and other Altean duties will be given to Shiro who has kindly offered to pick up your slack.”

“But-“

“I need you to stay low for a while, Lance,” Allura continued. “Sending you back into the field so soon after this mess will only bring more danger toward you. Plus, I need you to rest up your arm and let it heal.”

With a sigh of disappointment, Lance nodded, accepting the punishment. Hunk placed a hand on his shoulder to show support. 

“Before I dismiss you, there’s something urgent I need to discuss with you three,” Allura stated, looking at Pidge, Hunk, and Lance. “As I said before, I think it would be wise to get a new pair of hands to help us. Therefore, I have been looking into a potential new member.”

“A new member?” Hunk asked.

“Yes,” she confirmed. “I’m having Shiro meet up with him to check if he can be reliable. If he seems capable enough, I will have him introduced to everyone and welcome him to Altea.”

“And if he’s not reliable?” Pidge asked. Allura gave Pidge a tender smile that conveyed the message “I’ll take care of it personally”. Lance, Hunk, and Pidge nodded, keeping their mouths shut.

“Since there are no complaints, you three will continue with normal work,” Allura instructed. “Hunk, Lance, you’ll be taking first shift today. I will have work schedules posted this afternoon. Pidge, take the day off and rest. Shiro, you will come back tomorrow evening and work with Coran. You’re all dismissed.”

“Yes boss,” all replied before walking out of the office. Shiro rechecked supplies before heading out. With Lance, Hunk, and Pidge alone at the bar, the three talked for a while about the new member.

“I honestly don’t think we need another guy,” Lance complained. “We’ve completed our work fine so far.”

“Except for this past one,” Pidge reminded him. “I truly don’t care if we get this guy in or not. If they’re good and can help us stop Galra, fine with me.”

“What do you think Hunk?” Lance asked him. Being on the spot, Hunk fidgeted a little with his answer.

“I think…Pidge is right,” he concluded.

“ **What?** ”

“ **Huh?** ”

Both Lance and Pidge looked at Hunk, shocked that he took her side.

“I mean, things did get scary during the mission,” he said, supporting his choice. “And if this guy, _or girl_ , can be of any help, then that would be best for the group. Plus, we’d have another person working at the café.”

“…..well I still don’t think we need one,” Lance stubbornly stated. The glow of the sun in the early dawn began turning the night black sky a shade of purple and orange. 

“Sun is up, which means I’m going to go home and get some sleep,” Pidge announced, packing away her laptop. “You two work hard.”

She left through the back door, sticking her tongue out at Lance before leaving. Lance pouted and went to the back to get his working uniform on. Hunk did the same before going into the kitchens to get started on baking the day’s specialty pastries. Lance checked his bandage before slipping on his white long sleeved button up work shirt and tucking it into his slacks. He placed on his working apron and started to open the shutters on the window. It sucked that he would have to stay up for opening, but working with Hunk did make the time go fast. After cleaning up the tables, he took out the chalkboard sign from the back of the bar and wrote the day’s specials with a small doodle of a cappuccino. 

“Lance!” Hunk called from the back. “Breakfast muffins are done! You want one before shift starts?”

“Nah, I’m good!” Lance yelled back. “I’m gonna go ahead and open the café! There’s come customers waiting outside already!”

Lance went to the front of the coffee shop and unlocked the front doors. After opening them and setting down the standing chalkboard sign outside, he turned to face the café that was a business front for their group. He looked to his right to see three customers waiting for the place to open.

“ _Good morning~_ ” he greeted. “Please come in!”

He held the door open and gestured for them to enter.

“Welcome to The Lion’s Den!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When I was first writing this fanfic, I was unsure what front business the group would have. There were so many fun choices such as a jewelry store, host club, or dance studio, but I decided to go with the ever so popular cafe cliche. After all, I'm a sucker for coffee shop AUs. If you liked this chapter, leave a kudo or a comment! Again, you can check out my tumblr (http://theroarthatcannotbeignored.tumblr.com/) and search for the tag #The Lion's Den for any news on when the next chapter will come out!


	3. New Arrival

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Three weeks of overtime put Lance into a bad mood, but it gets much worse when Allura introduces the group's new member.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, please enjoy! And if you do, leave a kudo or a comment!

“What will you be having today, ladies?” Lance asked two customers as he took out a small notebook from his black apron. “We have a great selection in coffee and just received a new shipment of Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee beans that, when roasted to perfection, would go great with some freshly baked cinnamon crème cake.” 

“That sounds delicious,” answered one of the girls. “We’ll take two, and add cream to mine.” 

“ _Any sugar_?” Lance suggested, with a small wink. The girl shyly nodded and as he left with their order, the two giggled softly. Lance made his way to the other side of the bar and got started on the two cups of coffee before calling out to Hunk. “Hey Buddy! I need two slices of your cinnamon cake.” 

“On it,” Hunk answered. Lance poured the hot coffee into two decorative coffee cups before placing them on a serving tray. It was late afternoon, so the rush was dying down. The small amount of customers gave him a break from rushing the orders. While waiting for the cake, Lance went to refill the mug of another customer. In the corner of his eye, he noticed Allura post up the new schedule on the employee board behind the bar. With a lazy goodbye wave, she exited the café to get some rest after working another 36 hour shift. Lance went back to the bar to get the coffee and cake and serve them to the two women from before. 

“Here you are ladies,” he announced, gently setting the dessert and drinks down on the table. “Enjoy.” 

Not staying to chit chat and flirt, he quickly made his way to the back of the bar to check out the schedule. To his dismay, Allura gave him way much more overtime than he first expected. With a groan, he tossed the serving tray on the bar and leaned back. Hunk exited from the kitchen to put some cheesecake on display. He glanced at the schedule Lance was brooding over. 

“Oh man, that really sucks,” Hunk sympathized. 

“Can’t believe I’m doing three 60-hour weeks,” complained Lance. “And most of the shifts I’m taking are **Pidge’s**! I mean, she barely works 30 hours. Why does she need less?” 

“Well, you know Pidge pulls a lot of all-nighters doing our _‘night’_ work,” Hunk reminded him. “She’s not in the field, like us, but she’s the one who spends the most time getting information and planning with Allura. I swear, one time I saw her sitting with her laptop in the stockroom and not move from that spot for 2 days….”

“Enough with the scary stories, Hunk,” Lance said, although the thought did creep him out. “….It blows that I’m stuck playing waiter boy while everyone else is doing all the fun. And the whole new member thing just adds injury to insult.” 

“You mean insult to injury-“

“ **I mean that it can’t get any worse**!” he retorted, his glare deepening at the schedule. “…whatever….I don’t care. Whoever this guy is, he’s still gonna be a newbie. Whatever. I’m gonna give people more coffee.” 

Hunk slightly smiled as Lance trudged off to talk to new customers that entered the café. Finished with baking, he decided to wash some coffee cups. As his closest friend, Hunk could always tell when his buddy was feeling blue from having messed up something. After all, the person that was the hardest on Lance was Lance. The years the two had spent together making their way through police academy training gave Hunk a deeper understanding of his friend’s work ethic. In the most stressful situations, Lance managed to keep cool headed, even though that cool headedness came from his inability to take a lot of things seriously. He was rash and cocky, but his gut was usually right. 

Still, his competitive attitude and arrogance was his main drawback that nearly got him kicked out of the academy. But with Hunk there as his support and only fan, Lance did outstanding work. Lance, of course, supported Hunk back and kept him calm in the face of danger. Thinking about how they ended up as part of Altea made Hunk appreciate the fact that him, Lance, and Pidge joined together. 

“Do you think Pidge has gotten info on the new guy?” 

Hunk slightly jumped in surprise, not expecting Lance to return to the bar so soon. 

“Well, she didn’t know about it when it was announced,” Hunk stated. “And I doubt the information on this guy is that important for her to look into.” 

Agreeing with him, Lance helped out with the rest of the mugs and brewed another pot of coffee. For the next 3 hours, the two worked within the café before Shiro came in for the night shift. While serving coffee in the morning in afternoon, the Lion’s Den served as a bar from 6pm to closing. Shiro placed on his uniform and stood at the bar as Lance and Hunk cleaned up the tables and coffee cups from previous customers. 

“I can handle it from here, guys,” Shiro instructed the two, pouring a gin and tonic for a man sitting at the end of the bar. “Thanks for your hard work.” 

“Can I get a drink before I go?” Lance asked, taking a seat. 

“….sure,” Shiro answered. “You want something too Hunk?” 

“Not tonight, just water,” Hunk replied, taking a seat next to Lance. Shiro splashed some whiskey on ice and handed it to Lance before giving Hunk a glass of water with ice and lemon. Lance took a sip and sighed. 

“I see you’re unhappy about your work schedule,” Shiro remarked before chastising him. “I hope you don’t plan to drink away this inconvenience and instead decide to learn from it.” 

“Shiro….can’t you pity me….just for a bit?” Lance suggested, pouting and finishing his drink. 

“Lance I pity you on a daily basis,” he replied. “….but I trust that you can get through this and join me on the field soon.” 

“Thanks Shiro. So…..any news on the new guy?” 

“Drop it Lance,” Coran ordered, entering the bar area to help Shiro. “You have another long shift tomorrow, so I suggest you get changed and go home to get some rest.” 

“Don’t remind me…,”Lance mumbled before turning to Hunk. “Let’s go buddy.” 

Hunk and Lance left The Lion’s Den after changing to their regular clothes. They stopped at the street cart at 3rd and Bridge to grab some gyros for dinner. This celebratory meal wasn’t as sweet as Lance hoped it would be, but seeing the bright smile on Hunk’s face from being given an extra gyro made it a pretty good moment. 

“Lance, you’ve seem kind of off since our last mission,” Hunk observed, finishing his food. “…can I ask what happened?” 

With a sigh, Lance kept his eyes down, looking at the sidewalk. 

“ _Other than the fact I got knocked on my ass by a Galra loser_?” he suggested. 

“But you said he was different. You know you’re an awesome fighter. That’s why you’re always working with Shiro up and close to danger. Plus, the fact that he let you go means one thing-“

“That I’m a super loser for needing the pity of a Galra to live?” 

“That you get another chance to fight him,” Hunk corrected. “And believe me, he’s going to regret letting you live when you have the upper hand.” 

Lance gave Hunk an appreciative smile. 

“You’re right!” he agreed. “When he sees me he’ll be begging for mercy. Ha!” 

Lance and Hunk separated two blocks later, living in different apartment complexes. With a goodbye, Lance walked another 4 blocks before entering a red brick apartment building. He stopped at the small mailboxes and dug out his key to open his. As expected, it was empty. Lance locked his mail box and went into his apartment. 

Entering it, he flipped the light switch and looked around. His studio apartment was dimly lit having only two working light bulbs. The kitchen area was a slight mess with uncleaned dishes in the sink. The white small fridge softly hummed, keeping its nearly nonexistent contents cold. His living room consisted of one lonely couch and a TV that was supported on an old coffee table. To the right was his bed, empty, with the blankets scrunched up in one corner. 

“I’m home!” he shouted, knowing full well that no one but him was there. Tired from the very long day, he dragged himself straight to his bed and flopped down on it. While his apartment had little furniture and the walls were bare, the nightstand by his bed was full of mementos and photos of his family back home. He looked at the photo of his siblings and cousins smiling in a birthday party photo. While the only sound in the apartment was the humming of the fridge, he closed his eyes and focused on the sound of his family talking and laughing from a long ago memory. Within minutes, he drifted off to sleep, too exhausted to turn off the lights. 

* * *

The next three weeks were torture to Lance and his beauty sleep schedule. After one week, Lance tried to talk to Allura and ask for mercy, but she was adamant about him seeing his punishment through. The one good perk in working in the café shop for a crazy amount of hours was the unlimited supply of caffeine. By the end of it all, Lance was pretty certain that he had tried every single type of coffee drink The Lion’s Den served. Still, he knew he would have to ween himself off his coffee diet with all the jitter side effects and nights of tossing in bed trying to get sleep. God did he miss his sleep. 

Looking into his reflection in the espresso machine one afternoon, he groaned. 

“What’s wrong?” Hunk asked him. “Is the machine broken again?” 

“No…just my face,” Lance glumly responded. “Look at me Hunk! I’ve become a mess.” 

“You look fine,” Hunk assured. “Anyway today’s your last day of overtime, and your shift ends soon, so cheer up.” 

“Ugh, _about time_ ,” Lance yawned, stretching his arms above his head. “This punishment took a toll on my amazing face. I have dark circles now! And unlike Pidge, I can’t pull off the ‘sleep deprived trash’ look.” 

“ **Talking shit about me Lance**?” Pidge asked, standing behind the two. Lance jumped and turned to look at her. 

“Dammit Pidge, you’re like some sneaky gremlin!” Lance hissed. “And not the cute kind. The kind that gives Hunk nightmares!” 

“That was one time!” Hunk objected. 

“This gremlin just arrived to work an hour early to relieve you,” Pidge huffed. She left to the storage room to get into her uniform before going back to start her shift. Seeing an opportunity to get some off the record Intel about the 3 weeks of Altea business he missed out, Lance approached her with a nicer demeanor. 

“ _Sooo_ …Pidge,” he started. “What did you do with your time off?” 

“Oh wow, I did like so much stuff,” Pidge began, seeing where Lance was going. “But the best part about it all is that it’s **none of your business**.” 

Pidge left Lance standing in frustration to greet new customers entering the café. 

“That was a really good try,” Hunk remarked, smiling at Lance. 

“You think?” 

“Yes. Usually she would just ignore you.” 

“Hunk,” Pidge called preparing an order. “Do we still have lemon squares?” 

“We just ran out, but we still have lemon pound cake,” Hunk replied. As Lance got ready to go home, Coran entered from the storage room. His entrance, especially before bar hours meant one thing. There was going to be a meeting tonight. 

“Lance, Pidge, Hunk,” he acknowledged. “Please report back at closing.” 

As soon as he arrived did he leave, giving the three a moment where they looked at each other for confirmation of what was told before going back to regular duty. 

“See you tonight,” Lance told Hunk as he left to get a meal and some rest. 

* * *

An hour before midnight, Lance was making his way back to the café. The weather had gotten chillier, a cold front entering the city. He appreciated his decision to wear a light jacket. The lights and people he walked past seemed like a dull blur as his mind wandered. It would be around 4 months soon that he, Hunk, and Pidge first joined Altea. The summer heat from then had now turned into a gustily fall wind. He could barely comprehend how fast time ticked away. While their group have been making strides toward the destruction of Galra, they were only minor victories. Lance wondered if in the next 4 months, they would be closer to their objective. The way things seemed now though….it looked like it would take at least 4 years. 

Lance entered The Lion’s Den and made his way toward the back of it. As expected, Pidge was at a table typing away on her laptop while Hunk was taking a short nap at a booth. What was not expected was Shiro’s absence, since Coran was working the bar alone. Once the clock ticked to 11:30pm, Coran changed the open sign to close before going back behind the bar. 

“Last call!” he shouted, only to be greeted by the sounds of unhappy bar patrons. Lance sighed and took a seat across Pidge. Normally, he would be bothering her with questions about Galra, but his thoughts from before had left him in a bummed mood. What if he was going to stay here with Altea for the next four years? In just these few months, he found himself missing his family and his home and desperately wishing for the group to make down Zarkon’s Empire in one swift go. Volton, as beautiful as it was, could not compare to the comfort of his home town that was more than 1,000 miles away. The worst part of this situation was his inability to ever go back, even just to visit his family. The group had to cut ties with who they were before, especially after the fiasco that occurred when they left toward Voltron. Lance glanced at Pidge. If he had to choose one person who might feel the same as him about missing their family, it would be Pidge. Their circumstances were different, but seeing Pidge work hard day and night with the expectations of seeing her father and brother again gave Lance the same determination to finish what they started so that he could go back home. 

The last customer left, allowing Coran to go retrieve Allura from her office. Expecting her arrival, Lance went to wake up Hunk. 

“Come on big guy,” Lance nudged him, stirring him from his slumber. 

“Huh? Oh,” Hunk mumbled before yawning. “Did I miss anything?” 

“No, but the meeting will be starting soon,” Pidge answered, closing her laptop and taking off her glasses to rub her eyes. As if on cue, Allura stepped out from the storage room and looked at the three. Satisfied with their attendance, she signaled them to follow her. Not asking questions, the three got up and trailed behind her into the basement storage area. She took them into her office and had them sit down on the three chairs across from her desk. Meanwhile, Coran waited in the storage room. 

“Today’s meeting is very crucial,” she finally spoke after sitting down. “Shiro will be bringing our new member here to be introduced to you three.” 

“ _Is a meet and greet really crucial_?” Pidge asked, making a point. If this member was already joining, then their opinions of the matter would be rendered useless. 

“Normally, no,” Allura replied. “But this is an exception. You see-“

“Allura,” Coran interrupted, opening the office door. “Shiro has arrived with our visitor.” 

“Give us a few more minutes,” she ordered him. 

“Allura, is everything okay?” Hunk questioned, getting worried with the serious atmosphere looming over them. 

“Yes, Hunk,” she softly spoke. She straightened her posture a bit as if preparing to tell them bad news. “As I was saying, this meet is an exception. The reason behind this is because the member that Shiro and I have been looking into is a former Galra affiliate.” 

The three were stunned to silence before Pidge stood up from her seat. 

“What do you mean?” she inquired. “Are we really accepting an enemy into our group?” 

“Not an enemy, Pidge,” Allura confirmed. “A potential ally.” 

“ _Ally_?” Lance spoke up. “You’re telling us this guy was part of the Galra Mafia. He worked under Zarkon! I don’t know about you Allura, but this is raising nothing but red flags.” 

“Hey, wait you guys,” Hunk insisted, trying to calm the two. “Let’s just hear Allura out. She might have a reason to bring this guy in. Right?” 

The three looked at Allura who stood up. 

“Yes, I do have a reason,” she continued. “This former Galra member has abandoned his post in the Zarkon Empire, having seen the error of his ways. He also holds very important information about the Mafia that _only internal sources_ can get to. He can be a true asset to us, but I understand your hesitation. That is why I am having you three meet him for yourself.” 

Allura called out to Coran, signaling him to bring in the new member. Shiro entered the room, leading a blindfolded person in who had his hands tied behind his back and a bag over his head like a hostage. Shiro placed this mystery person in front of Lance, Pidge, and Hunk. 

“This man has agreed without complaint to be taken here bound and blinded,” Allura explained. “He does not know the location of this base. Please take this into consideration as I introduce our potential new member.” 

Allura nodded at Shiro who removed the cloth bag from the man’s head. Long oil black hair was the first noticeable feature about this strange man. The person looked up at the three with a serious expression as if waiting an execution with head held high. Lance looked at the guys eyes and took a step back. He’d seen these eyes before. They were the very eyes that had stared him down with cold intent only 3 weeks ago. The blue-grey eyes that had focused on him when he was at gunpoint. 

“Everyone, this is Keith,” Allura announced. 

“ **….I know him** ,” Lance seethed. Everyone looked at Lance in surprise as he glared at Keith. “ **He’s the Galra guard that almost killed me….** ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter is longer than usual. This is because I merged two chapters into one. After finishing the original third chapter, I noticed I was 300 words below my personal 2k word per chapter minimum. Not wanting to fill the chapter with 300 words of filler and make the story drag, I merged both chapters together. Things are going to get much more fun from here so I hope everyone looks forward to the next chapter. 
> 
> Also, I've created a separate tumblr account that is solely for this fanfic and other Voltron stuff. To find out the progress of the next chapter and see when it might be released, please follow http://theroarthatcannotbeignored.tumblr.com/
> 
> On a completely different note, I know this week has been very hard to deal with. Especially if you live in America like me. Just know that tomorrow is a new day and the sun will always rise. In the face of uncertainty, you must prevail. Everyone, take care of yourselves and be careful. If you ever need a friend, I'm always here to listen.


	4. The Deciding Vote

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With new information being revealed about Keith, the paladins vote whether or not to accept him into their group.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it is, as promised! Please enjoy, and leave a kudo or comment if you do~

* * *

The team stood still in silence as Lance glared at Keith, who looked more confused than surprised. For a brief second, Lance considered attacking him. He took a step forward to do so, but Hunk stopped him. 

“Hold on,” Hunk pleaded. While trying to keep the peace, his eyes carried uncertainty and he looked at Lance for confirmation. “You’re saying that this guy is the one who attacked you during the bombing mission?” 

“I would never forget his face,” Lance seethed. “ **Ask him**. He saw me. He took off my mask and threatened to shoot me.” 

The others turned to Keith who was staring at Lance. The atmosphere in the room was tense and dark. For a few seconds, there was no sound until the ex-Galra spoke. 

“I’m sorry, but….I can’t recall meeting you,” he replied truthfully. 

“Don’t play around!” Lance lashed out, breaking away from Hunk and grabbing the new member by his collar. “You fought me at the Galra apartment base! You took my mask and had your gun on me-“

“ **Lance, that’s enough!** ” Shiro warned, trying to break the two apart. Lance had pushed Keith against the wall, ready to get his revenge. That’s when Keith realized what Lance was talking about. 

“Wait….you’re that infiltrator,” he recalled. “….the one I let go.” 

“Oh, now you remember?!” yelled Lance making a move to hit him. “Well it’s too late now, _culero_!” 

At this point, Hunk stepped in to help Shiro get Lance under control. This was difficult, for Lance was stronger than others usually expected him to be and could hold his own against Shiro if serious enough. Hunk had to lift Lance off the floor to get him away from Keith. After being let go, Keith moved away, keeping his distance from him. 

“Let go of me, Hunk!” Lance ordered, struggling to be put down. “I’m gonna teach this son of a bitch he can’t mess with me and then turn around and forget it!” 

“ **ENOUGH!** ” Allura commanded, gaining control of the situation. She glanced at Keith and Lance for a moment. “I will not let this meeting become a fight! Lance, we have heard your side of this story. It is only fair that we hear what Keith has to say about this.” 

“ _So we’re just going to take in the opinion of a Galra?_ ” Pidge questioned. “Especially one that could have placed one of our members in serious danger? If it were the other way around, the Galra would-“

“We are not Galra, Pidge,” Allura instructed. “To treat this man as a guilty enemy without hearing his case would make us just as bad as them.” 

Pidge shut her mouth, but gave Keith the same glare that Lance was giving him. Lance was beyond thankful that Pidge was on his side over this whole matter. Hunk slowly let Lance go, but kept an eye on his best friend in case he decided to do something reckless. 

“Keith,” Shiro inquired. “Is what Lance is saying true? Were you there at that Galra base that was bombed 3 weeks ago?” 

Keith took a step forward, remaining vigilant. He had one shot to persuade the group that he did not mean any harm to come to them. 

“I was,” he answered. He continued before Lance or Pidge had the chance to interrupt him. “I was stationed to patrol the area and when I saw your member at the base, I disarmed him.....but I let him go. I had no intention to kill him. Any other Galra would have shot him, but I set him free.” 

“Then what about your threat?” Lance asked, not wanting to believe that his attacker meant no harm. “That if you ever saw me again, you’d make sure to kill me.” 

“I said that so that you would leave with the intention of never trying to fight Zarkon’s Empire and find yourself in trouble next time,” he explained, keeping his cool. “After all, there would be no guarantee that if you got caught again, that another guard would be like me and let you go.” 

“You don’t believe this guy, right?” Pidge asked Shiro. Compared to the others, Pidge’s hatred toward Galra was the most intense. It was only natural that she was against this new member, even if it meant being on Lance’s side for once. “I mean, how do we know that he’s not just some spy that is undercover and trying to get information on us?” 

“ _Pidge has a point_ ,” Hunk agreed. “I know that having this guy in our group could be helpful, but he’s a double edged sword.” 

“I understand your concerns,” Allura explained. “Shiro and I were extremely hesitant to give him a chance, but after multiple secret meetings with him, and Shiro keeping an eye on his moves, he’s shown no signs of cooperating with the Galra Empire.” 

“I have broken away from Galra,” Keith cleared up, defending himself once more. “Zarkon and his men know that I have renounced my loyalty to them. After that bombing mission, I disappeared from their eyes and have become their enemy. In case you don’t know, once you’re part of the mafia, you don’t get to leave without repercussions.” 

“What Keith says about the mafia is true,” Allura agreed. “Zarkon never lets any of his men walk away from him alive. His decision to run away has made him a primary target. He cannot go back to them for safety since he has been labeled a traitor for abandoning his post.” 

“…Allura,” Pidge interjected, her eyesight never leaving Keith. “You said that this meeting was different from a meet and greet with our new ‘ally’. What did you mean by that?” 

Allura took a deep sigh and made her way between them. She had not expected things to get so out of hand. No one did. For a split second, she turned to gaze to Shiro who gave her an expression of full support. 

“This is different from a meet and greet because I want your input in this matter,” she answered. “While Shiro and I looked into Keith and agreed that he is trustworthy enough, we felt that it would be unfair to hire him without the consent of you three. We are a team. I feared that if I made this choice with Shiro alone, it would create chaos between us. The fall of Altea started when there was dissonance in our great family. I want to be certain that it would never happen again.” 

The harsh memories of losing everything she had, caused Allura to pause and regain her composure. Lance could see that Shiro was restraining himself from comforting her. He sighed and looked away from Keith, trying to cool down his temper. 

“I am leaving this choice up to the three of you,”Allura finished. Pidge, Hunk, and Lance turned to her in shock. When it commonly came to deciding what was best for the team, it was Allura’s decision alone. She was their leader and acted like one. The toughest of choices were always her call. Even Shiro, who was the most trusted and responsible of the four, had no power to veer off from her choices. To give them this chance to make a crucial choice of letting in an ex-Galra member into their group was unprecedented. 

“Wait….so… _we_ choose?” Hunk asked, wanting to make sure that he heard correctly. She nodded silently. 

“Shiro and I have faith in Keith,” she informed them. “But I will leave his initiation into the group in your hands.” 

Keith stared at Lance, Pidge, and Hunk. His life depended on their decision. If the majority voted no, he would have nowhere to go. He could not go back to Galra, even if I bargained his life by giving Zarkon information about Altea. No mercy was going to be shown to him. 

“I say no.” 

Everyone turned to Pidge who had her arms crossed. Her quick dismissal of Keith was harsh, but after everything she had gone through, it was understandable. Lance would try to imagine what kind of person Pidge would have turned out to be if the Galra Empire never existed. He was sure that at some point, she may have been a normal happy tech whiz. Pidge was the smartest person he knew. She was ambitious and did everything in her power to reach her goals. Still, the harsh reality that fell upon her shoulders had left her jaded and cautious. It took months to gain her trust, even after learning that they were going to be a team. It would take years before she could ever trust Keith. Pidge didn’t bother to explain her reasoning behind her choice. Mainly, because everyone already knew. 

“What do you think, Hunk?” Shiro asked him. “Do you agree with Pidge?” 

Hunk looked at Keith and shifted his gaze away. He was never great with being put on the spot like this. 

“I see why Pidge does not trust him,” he sympathized. “But I also understand how important he can be to our team. I….I don’t want to say no….on the chance that he really does have no place to go. If I was on my own with Zarkon going after me, I probably wouldn’t make it. I wouldn’t know what to do. I can’t put someone in that kind of danger. So…..I say he should join.” 

Lance couldn’t help but smile at Hunk’s perspective. His best friend had the biggest heart and he knew that he would not be able to handle the guilt of putting someone in danger when they could be innocent. 

“Lance.” 

He shook out of his wandering thoughts with Shiro calling his name to see everyone in the room looking at him. With one vote no and one vote yes, he was the deciding factor. Straightening his back, he took a good hard look at Keith. Everything was telling him to say no. He wanted this asshole far away from him. He wanted revenge for being made a fool of and causing him 3 weeks of exhausting overtime. 

_**But he let you go** _

Lance wanted to shut up his conscience. Why, and especially now, did he get the urge to turn saint all of a sudden? No, this was not going to happen. Not now. He was not going to give this guy a chance-

 _ **Even when he gave you a chance?**_

Lance let out a soft cuss. He didn’t know if it was because Hunk’s words moved him, but Lance was about to make a choice that he was not happy with. 

“…..Let’s give him a shot,” Lance mumbled, not truly wanting to say the words. Just like that, the tension in the room disappeared. 

“Then it’s decided,” Allura announced, before turning to Keith. “Welcome to Altea, Keith. It is my honor to pronounce you our newest paladin in the fight against Zarkon.” 

Pidge left the room, not caring to stay for the ‘welcoming ceremony’. 

“Pidge!” Shiro called, moving to go after her. Lance stopped him from leaving the room. 

“Give her some space,” Lance suggested. “Let’s just…..give her some time to herself.” 

Shiro took Lance’s advice and stayed in the office. Getting back to the matter at hand, Allura presented Keith with a uniform for missions. 

“As part of the paladins, you will be given a code name,” Allura said. “This will be your name during missions to keep your identity hidden, just as this uniform will keep you hidden. With your bravery to break away from Zarkon, knowing the full effects of what could occur, I give you the code name “Red” and its fierce demeanor. Just like the color of burning ambers, you have been reborn from the ashes of Galra and will rise as Voltron’s hero.” 

Keith took the uniform and nodded, accepting his new position with gratitude. 

“We also have a second uniform for you,” she continued. “Hunk, if you could…”

Hunk grabbed a café uniform and presented it to Keith. The new paladin looked at it in confusion, unsure of what to take from this. 

“As part of your team, you will also be working in our establishment to keep up our front from the Galra,” Allura instructed. “Before we go into specifics, I would like for your new family to introduce themselves to you. As you know, I am the leader of Altea. You may refer to me as ‘Allura’, which is my given name from my father, the previous leader of Altea. This is my advisor, Coran.” 

“Pleased to meet you,” Coran greeted, having stayed in the background during the whole matter. Shiro walked towards Keith and held out his hand to shake his. 

“My name is Takashi Shirogane,” he introduced himself. “Everyone calls me ‘Shiro’. My code name on missions is ‘Black’. It’s good to have you on our side.” 

Keith shook his hand, slightly surprised when he realized that it was a prosthetic limb. Shiro stepped back with an all knowing smile, and gave the others a chance to introduce themselves. Hunk greeted Keith the same way, telling him his name and code name before giving him a small smile, which he appreciated. Lance was last to go. He got close to Keith and grabbed his hand, squeezing it tightly in a threatening matter. 

“Name’s Lance,” he spoke with a dark and serious tone. “I’m the Blue Paladin. **Don’t make me regret giving you a chance**.” 

Keith squeezed his hand back and shook it, giving Lance an intense stare. 

“ _ **I won’t**_ ,” he promised. Lance let go of Keith’s hand and turned away to leave the room. 

“The girl that was here before,” Shiro explained to Keith. “Her name is-“

“Pidge,” Keith recalled. He looked at the office door, thinking about how abrupt her leave was. “…..is she going to be okay?” 

“I’ll find out about that,” Lance answered as he opened the door and went to look for her. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So now that Keith is part of the group, we'll see how well he cooperates with everyone with the teamwork challenge of working in the cafe with them. What would you suggest his position be? Customer service? Baking? Creating foam art? Or will he be working bar nights with Shiro and Coran? The possibilities are fun for me to think about. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and decide to continue reading this fanfiction. 
> 
> Again, thank you for being patient with the release of this chapter. I finished a bunch of chapter outlines, so I won't be needing to take a break to do them again for a while. If you want to know the progress of the next chapter or see when it's scheduled to be posted, go ahead and follow this tumblr blog: http://theroarthatcannotbeignored.tumblr.com/
> 
> Search for the tag #The Lion's Den for updates!


	5. Team Building Exercise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Keith's first day working at The Lion's Den, but with Lance as his mentor, nothing can go wrong.......right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As promised, here's another chapter, right on schedule~ Hope you enjoy it! Leave a comment or a kudo if you do!

* * *

Lance had searched around The Lion’s Den for Pidge, but she was nowhere in sight. Thinking of where she could have gone off to, he grabbed a bottle of tequila from behind the bar and stuffed it into his black sling backpack that was used during missions. He left a note for Hunk, instructing for him not to wait up for him so that they could walk home, and left the café. 

With the time being at an ungodly hour, most of the streets were clear of pedestrians. Lance made his way past Midpoint Park and followed a dirt trail that started at the southern area of the public garden. The trail was often taken by hikers making their way up a small group of cliffs untouched by construction. Halfway up the trail, he made sure that he was alone before going off the path. He was greeted with a steep rock wall after 5 minutes of hiking west. 

“Pidge!” he called, looking up. “It’s me!” 

He waited a few seconds before trying again. 

“Pidge, I’m not leaving,” he fought. “So either I keep yelling until police come, or you help me up. I know you took away the climbing rope!” 

Before the count of five, a long rope with knots was tossed from the top of the wall. With a sigh of relief, Lance grabbed the rope and made sure his backpack was properly secured before making his climb. At the top of the wall, he was greeted with a glorious view of the city. Its lights sparkled in and out, matching with the stars that dusted the night sky. Staring at this view with him was Pidge, who sat at the edge of a small cliff. Lance took note that she had her laptop with her, but it must have ran out of battery because it was closed and placed to the side. 

“What do you want, Lance?” she asked, turning to look at him. Lance opened his backpack and took out the bottle of liquor. 

“Just thought you could use a pick-me-up,” he answered. Pidge’s expression softened. Turning back to the scenery, she shifted to the side, indicating it safe for Lance to sit by her without the fear of being pushed off the edge. Lance took a seat and opened the bottle before taking a swig and offering it to Pidge. She took the bottle and did the same. After a moment of silence between the two, Pidge spoke up. 

“ **This tastes horrible.** ”

“ _Trust me_ , no one drinks alcohol for the taste,” Lance commented with a smile. After Pidge took another long drink from the bottle, she placed it down. 

“I’m surprised you managed to track me down,” she admitted. 

“I’m surprised I managed to climb this cliff without falling off three times,” he responded. To his delight, Pidge let out a small snort of laughter. “Rope climbing was never my forte in the police academy.” 

“ _I don’t think anything was your forte in the academy_ ,” Pidge joked. “It’s probably why you’re so good working as a criminal for an illegal vigilante group.” 

“Look who’s calling the kettle ugly,” Lance retorted. “I can’t recall how many times I had to save _you_ from our drill sergeant when your smart mouth couldn’t stay shut.” 

“ _At least I have a smart mouth_ ,” Pidge shot back with her signature dorky smile. “You need to brush up on your idioms.” 

Lance laughed, accepting defeat, and took another sip of tequila. This was the Pidge that he wished existed more often. Remembering why he looked for her in the first place, his smile slightly faltered. While this rare moment between them was nice, he knew it could not last. He was going to have to talk about Keith to her. 

“Pidge…I know you don’t like this Keith guy joining us,” he said, going straight into the topic. After all, he never properly learned the lesson of staying subtle. Seeing that she made no move to speak about it, he continued. “I’m not very open about it either, but I’m willing to give it a shot, and do you know why?” 

Pidge turned to look at him, waiting to hear the answer to his own question. 

“Because I want the team to be happy,” he informed. “This guy has information that can bring down Zarkon which would make Allura happy. With Zarkon gone, Shiro can be free, which would make him happy. Hunk wouldn’t have to worry about us being in the field. I would be known as a hero. And as for you……we might finally find your brother and dad. It’s risky, but it’s a risk I’m willing to take. So even if you can’t find yourself trusting this guy, trust in me instead. _Okay?_ ”

Lance worried for a moment that Pidge would only ignore him, or worse. This was his first heart to heart conversation with her, and it showed. He waited with bated breath for her response, which he was afraid would be negative. Instead, she gave him a slight nod. 

“Okay,” she answered softly. When she looked up at Lance, she was shocked to find him tearing up. “ _Are you okay?_ ”

“Y-Yeah, I’m a…..I’m just a crying drunk,” he answered, covering the fact that he was moved from Pidge’s acceptance. The two spent another half hour at the cliff before they got texts from Allura, stating that they would be working tomorrow morning. That’s when they left to get some rest. 

* * *

Lance entered The Lion’s Den with a horrid hangover. Pidge was already there, carrying the same ‘kill me now’ expression as his. It was an hour before opening, but they were instructed to be there early for a quick rundown from Allura. Having missed out on the rest of the introductory meeting for Keith, they needed to catch up on what was discussed. Out of courtesy, Pidge passed him a freshly brewed cup of coffee. The two enjoyed the silence of the restaurant and managed to finish their cups before Allura entered. 

“Good, you two are here,” she said, not bothering for good mornings. “Hunk should be here soon with Keith.” 

“All hands on deck today?” Lance asked with an amused smile. “Is it a holiday or something?” 

“ _I wish_ ,” Allura sighed. “Business has been getting slow in the day thanks to that new espresso place opening up down the block. Anyway, I need everyone here because I want to see how well you all can work together with Keith.” 

“Is that really necessary?” Pidge asked. “I’m pretty sure our teamwork skills can be tested in the field.” 

“Of course they could,” Allura replied, putting away her coat. “But I don’t want to take the chance of you not playing nice and leading a mission to a failure. And before you answer, I know you’re better than that, but because Keith is a special exception, I need to make certain that everyone can support each other. So all of you will be working together and help Keith find a proper place in the café. **Lance, I’m placing you in charge.** ”

Lance had to do a double take when he heard this. Allura was putting him in charge today. He smiled until he realized what this meant. 

“Hold on…. _I need to keep an eye on Keith?_ ” he asked. 

“In a sense,” she continued. “I need you to train Keith in customer service. Hunk will handle training him in baking sweets. And Pidge, you’ll oversee his training in using the coffee and espresso machines, along with the POS system. But Lance, you will be in charge in making sure that everything goes well today. If I hear any complaints from customers or if sales are lower than usual today, you’ll be seeing another month of overtime.” 

“ _Allura_ ,” Lance objected. “ _ **Please, you can’t do this to me.**_ ”

* * *

“I can’t believe she did this to me,” Lance grumbled at Hunk who was doing his work in the kitchen. “Now I’m stuck babysitting the new guy. And _why_ me?” 

Hunk knew exactly why. He knew that Lance was chosen to watch over Keith because Allura worried that the two would have the hardest time working together, but he was not going to tell Lance that. Instead, he shrugged and handed Lance a plate of raspberry tarts. Lance got the tray and placed it in display. He turned to see Keith right where he left him. 

The ex-galra was washing dishes. Lance had him on dish duty for the past hour, not wanting to get him close to the food, drink, or customers. According to café work dress rules, Keith was wearing the usual café uniform composed of black slacks, a white long-sleeved button up dress shirt with the sleeves usually rolled up 3/4th of the way, and a half apron tied around the waist. His hair was rather long and needed up be tied up according to dress code. When Keith had learned that Lance was going to be his mentor for the day, his disposition was filled with annoyance. Both of them were unsatisfied with their team building exercise. It only got worse when Lance had ordered him to wash dishes and ‘stay out of my way’. After all, the blue paladin was still upset over being bested by him in the past. 

Hunk took a break from baking and stood next to Lance. 

“I think Allura put you in charge because you’re the best worker at the café,” Hunk suggested. “I mean, most of our customers come back just to talk to you and you’re great at keeping us in business.” 

“You really think so?” Lance beamed. He smirked, taking in Hunks words. “Well, I can’t let Allura down then. Let’s see if I can make this guy Lion’s Den material. Hey Keith!” 

Keith finished rinsing a coffee cup before turning to Lance who walked up to him. Lance noted the resting bitch face that Keith wore. 

“Okay, first off, you need to get rid of that,” Lance ordered, pointing to his face. Keith raised a brow, thinking Lance was pointing to his face as a whole and not just his scowl. “Customers don’t like seeing the workers in a bad mood. Have you ever worked at a place like this?” 

“No,” Keith answered before lowering his voice. “Galra doesn’t exactly run stuff like bakeries and flower shops. I didn’t know working with Altea came with a part time job.” 

“Oh, so you just thought it would be all action and missions?” Lance whispered in a rough tone. “Well tough luck. Being in our group means spending your free time still working for us. Now get rid of that ugly mug and try a smile.” 

Lance stared at Keith who gave a feeble attempt that what could only be called a forced grin. The sight was amusing, but not the kind of amusing Lance was expecting. At any point, the grin was worse than his scowl. 

“Nevermind, keep a neutral expression,” Lance ordered before stretching his back. “So here’s what’s gonna to happen. I’m gonna serve customers and you’re gonna watch me. Best way to learn how to do something is from observation. So observe me.” 

Keith sighed and followed Lance for a bit before stopping near the bar. He was close enough to see what Lance was doing and hear what he was saying without being in the way. As Lance approached two regulars, he greeted them with a good morning. 

“How are we today, ladies?” he asked with a smirk. 

“Hey Lance,” one of the girls whispered. “Who’s the cutie watching you?” 

“Oh _him_?” Lance asked before bending down to whisper to the two. “He’s new. I’m helping him out by training him and showing him how to be a good server. So, it would be wonderful if you two could help me out today.” 

The two nodded and praised Lance for being such a kind mentor. Lance happily took their orders and gave it to Pidge who was working the espresso machines and creating drinks. Making sure that Keith was watching him every step of the way, he got more orders from customers and served them their drinks and desserts. Even though he knew he had told the new worker to watch him work, the fact that he could feel the pair of eyes catching his every move made him slightly nervous. After 15 minutes, he made his way to Keith. 

“So, now you know how things go, let’s see you in action,” Lance suggested. “Remember, greet, ask their order, and deliver it to Pidge. And no scowling, okay?” 

Keith took a deep breath and walked towards a table with 3 guests. 

“Think he has this?” Hunk asked, spying from the kitchen. 

“He’s been observing me, so I’m sure he does,” Lance replied. 

“ **Hey, what do you want?** ” Keith asked the guests in a not so friendly manner. The three people were slightly taken aback and looked at each other to see who wanted to order first. After a few seconds of waiting, Keith spoke up. “ **Do you need more time or something?** ”

“Or maybe not,” Lance amended before going to Keith. He quickly grabbed his arm and led him away before facing the customers with a kind smile and speaking to them. “Sorry about that, how can I help you today? We have a great special on our new cappuccino.” 

With the situation fixed, Lance took Keith to the back of the bar. 

“What the _**fuck**_ was that?” he whispered in a harsh voice. 

“I was doing what you told me to do,” Keith replied with an annoyed frown. “I greeted them and asked for their order. I even asked if they needed more time.” 

“Yeah, but you did a shitty job of it,” Lance hissed. 

“Well how am I supposed to learn anything when your only method of teaching is just to watch you?” Keith fought. 

“Guys, don’t argue, please,” Hunk pleaded. “Lance, let me have Keith help me back here.” 

“Fine,” agreed Lance. He turned to Keith and pointed a finger to his face. “Don’t mess with the food, you hear? I’m keeping an eye on you.” 

Keith swatted away Lance’s hand and went to the kitchen. Unhappy with the disrespect he was retrieving, Lance left to continue serving the others. When it came to baking goods, Keith was slightly better at it than customer service, but only slightly. Hunk had to throw away some muffins after finding that Keith didn’t follow the recipe too well and added more baking powder than flour. Hunk passed Keith off to Pidge after an hour since he was now falling behind on making sweets from the mishaps. 

Pidge was a worse teacher than Lance and expected Keith to understand everything after just one explanation. In just the 10 minutes he spent there, one espresso machine broke and the POS system was showing negative earnings. Lance was fed up and considered keeping Keith on dish duty for the rest of the day. 

“Hey, can one of you change the specials sign?” Hunk asked Lance, Pidge, and Keith. “We’re out of cinnamon cake, so I need you to replace it with caramel coffee cake.” 

Lance made a move to grab the sign from outside, but Keith beat him to it. 

“I got it,” he mumbled. From his recent failures, Keith figured they wanted a break from him. Changing a sign would not be too hard anyway. He grabbed the chalkboard sign and erased part of it before making the changes necessary. 

“Well today’s turning into a disaster,” Pidge complained. “I hope you’re up for another month of overtime, Lance.” 

“Shut it,” Lance huffed. In complete honesty, he was starting to freak out over failing his first job as leader. What was he going to do with Keith? The guy was horrible at customer service, operating machinery, and baking. He silently approached Keith to make sure that at least the sign was done correctly. He paused and was surprised to find that Keith had fixed the sign and added illustrations to it. The ex-Galra finished it up and placed it on display before turning to see Lance right behind him. 

“Did you draw that?” Lance asked him instantly. Keith turned back to the sign that was artistically decorated with an illustration of a cappuccino and a slice of coffee cake. 

“Is it bad?” Keith asked, instead of answering. “I can just erase-“

“No,” Lance interrupted, stopping him. “It’s good.” 

Keith stared at him, surprised from the compliment. When Lance realized this, he slightly scoffed. 

“Well, _it’s good for a sign_ ,” he added. With quick thinking, he grabbed Keith’s arm and pulled him to the back of the bar. Keith slightly tripped, but let Lance lead him away from the front of the café. He was more confused when Lance let him go and presented him with a cup of espresso and a creamer holder filled with steam milk. “I need you to do something for me.” 

“ _You’re going to have me drink coffee?_ ” Keith asked. 

“No, I’m gonna have you decorate it with foam art,” Lance stated. 

“ **What?** ”

“Look, like this,” Lance said, creating a simple swirl design by pouring the steam milk in the cup of espresso and using a toothpick. After seeing how good Keith was at drawing, he was testing to see if he had other creative skills. “Here, you try it.” 

Keith was given a separate cup of espresso and milk to try. At his first attempt, he was able to make the same art as Lance. With finding out the basics of foam art from Lance, Keith quickly picked up how to make new designs. One after another, customers started ordering more lattes just for the cute art. Keith managed to keep up with the demand and had no mistakes. Lance kept an eye on him, but was relieved to have finally found a proper job for the new guy to handle. This relief slowly turned to jealousy when he realized that a lot of customers, even his own, began to focus more of their attention on Keith. With Hunk’s suggestion of having Keith create the foam art at the bar in view of the customers, Lance’s spotlight was being taken away. 

“Keith is really popular this afternoon, huh?” Pidge asked Lance, taking a small break. 

“So what?” Lance sneered. Pidge smirked at him, sensing his hostility. She decided to use this information to tease him. 

“You got to be careful, Lance,” she warned. “You might not be our café’s employee of the month soon.” 

“Oh _please_ ,” he scoffed leaning against one of the tables. “I’m this café’s bread and jam. People are just interested in Keith because he’s new. Once they realize he’s just some antisocial weirdo who just happens to be artistic and good looking, they’ll come back to me, _numero uno_.”

“So you think he’s good looking?” Hunk asked, dropping into the conversation. Embarrassed, Lance got after the two for slacking off and had them go back to work. When the rush hour died down, Keith looked like he was in the weeds. 

“Go ahead and take a 15 minute break,” Lance suggested to him before going off to clean tables. “It’s gotten slow, so we can relax.” 

Keith nodded and sat down to rest. Doing this kind of work was different from his past work in being a guard for Galra. Weirdly enough, that work was not as tiring as being a barista. Hunk stepped out from the kitchens and offered him a cupcake. 

“Thanks,” Keith muttered, accepting it. Hunk sat next to Keith and decided to take it upon himself to get to know him. After all, Keith was now a team member. 

“So….what made you want to join the café business?” Hunk asked him, keeping the true topic disguised. 

“Sorry,” Keith apologized. “I don’t feel comfortable talking about myself when I still hardly know anything about you or anyone else here.” 

“Fair enough,” Hunk responded. “What do you want to know?” 

Keith glanced at him with a hesitant look in his eye. He was unsure whether Hunk was kidding or not, but after seeing no sign of the big guy leaving him clueless, he replied. 

“What’s a _paladin_?” Keith whispered. 

“It’s what we are,” Lance answered, joining the two. He placed away the cleaning rag in his hands and took a seat. “Fighters for our cause. Saviors, you could say. With you, that makes 5 of us.” 

“Allura isn’t one?” 

“Oh no, she’s our princess, you could say,” Hunk explained quietly. “Normally, her role is to be our diplomat and she handles all the internal business and stuff.” 

“So….is Shiro second in command?” 

“What gave it away?” Lance asked. 

“He just…..has that…..you know,” Keith struggled to explain. 

“ _Air of responsibility and attitude of a natural born leader?_ ” Hunk suggested. “That’s our Shiro. He’s the most highly trained in the group, so he is our leader, after Allura. You don’t have to be afraid of him though. He seems like a tough guy, but he cares about everyone in the team.” 

After taking a moment to finish his cupcake, Keith continued with one more question. 

“…..his right arm,” Keith pointed out. “It’s fake.” 

“He usually keeps it hidden pretty well,” Lance explained. “But yes, it’s fake. Replaced with a very fancy high tech prosthetic.” 

“…..what happened to him? With his arm?” 

“ _ **Galra**_ ,” answered Pidge. The three stopped to look at her. The café was empty except for them. The atmosphere in the room became tense and Keith found that he was bordering a serious topic rarely discussed between them. Pidge’s quick answer was all that was needed for Keith to understand. She looked at him with an accusing look, but turned away a second later. “Come on. We need to get ready for the next rush hour.” 

Pidge left to the storage room to grab more coffee beans. Lance stretched his arms above his head and made sure that menus were on each table. Hunk patted Keith’s back and left to the kitchens. While some of his questions were answered, Keith couldn’t help but feel as though 100 more were left before he would truly get to know the team. 

“Hey Keith,” Lance called. The red paladin turned to him, expecting to be placed back on dish duty. Lance had his arms crossed and seemed to hesitate. “Maybe…maybe observing wasn’t the best way to teach you customer service…….so let’s have you shadow me and we’ll take the customers’ orders down together, huh? _Unless you’re comfortable with dish duty until someone wants a latte?_ ”

“No, I’ll shadow you,” Keith answered instantly. Just like that, he was starting to feel like the space between him and the rest of Altea was starting to close. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! Happy early Thanksgiving! Just thought it would be nice to have a new chapter of this fanfic to read at the beginning of Thanksgiving Break (at least today is the beginning of my break). In the spirit of my favorite holiday, I made this chapter almost twice as long as I usually do. I hope ya'll have a great thanksgiving with family and friends. 
> 
> Remember, if you want to know when the next chapter will be released or if there will be delays, feel free to visit this tumblr blog where I post progress reports on this fanfic and reblog a lot of Lance stuff: http://theroarthatcannotbeignored.tumblr.com/
> 
> Search for the tag #The Lion's Den
> 
> For those who have been missing the suspense and action of missions, do not fear! The new duo will be given their first mission on the field very soon. While this fanfic does center Klance, I like to take the time to show Lance's connections and relationships with the other paladins. Also, you'll be learning more about the team as Keith uncovers their past lives and secrets. Thank you for reading. I am very surprised at how well this story has been doing so far and I can't wait to bring you more~


	6. No Bedsheets

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance gets a new shocking realization when he goes home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's still Friday, so I'm not late in posting this! Haha, enjoy~

* * *

The hours spent at work went faster as the day progressed. Lance was not used to time flying by for him. When it came to work, relaxing, or sleeping, he could feel every minute pass by. Ever since he arrived to Voltron, he’d find himself watching the seconds slowly tick away as if he were waiting for something important to happen. Not even sleep could make time go fast. So why was today different?

“Lance, do you want me to give table 5 their order?” 

The blue paladin stepped out of his trance to see Keith waiting for his answer. In his arms was a tray which carried two desserts and 3 glasses of iced coffee. With a subtle nod, Lance let Keith serve a few customers their order. He watched as the team’s newest addition made his way to the table and greeted them with their orders as taught. This time though, Lance found himself preoccupied looking at Keith’s shoulders instead of listening silently to make sure he would not say anything rude to their café patrons. He was not as built as the other Galra fighters he had seen. Still, that did not mean that Keith did not have the same fierceness as Zarkon’s men. In fact, Lance was sure that his will to fight was stronger than anticipated. His eyes slowly lingered down Keith’s back until he realized that his assessment was turning into a check out session. Annoyed with this, Lance turned away and was surprised to see Shiro’s arrival. 

“You’re here early,” Lance commented, walking up to him. 

“Not really, I’m just on time,” Shiro corrected, looking at the clock. “See?” 

Shiro was correct. It was exactly 6, which meant his shift was over. This was very unsettling, but Lance did not complain about it. 

“I see that Keith has found his place here,” Shiro spoke, going to the back of the bar. “You did very well, Lance. Allura will be happy to know that you two settled your differences.” 

“Who said anything about that?” Lance asked. “Just because I can work with him, don’t mean I like that guy now.” 

“I didn’t say anything about _liking_ him,” the black paladin replied with a look of interest. At that moment, Keith walked up to the two. Lance decided to focus on something other than Keith and went to clean a few tables. Shiro smiled a bit and turned to Keith. “How was your first day?” 

“….not bad, I guess,” he answered, setting the empty tray down. “If all of us are clocking out, does that mean you’ll be working alone?” 

“I have Coran,” Shiro answered. “Occasionally, if the bar gets a bit full or rowdy, Allura helps out. Don’t worry about me. Go ahead and finish up any cleaning duties you have before you leave.” 

Pidge, Hunk, Lance, and Keith made sure the café was clean and that everything was set up for the bar before ending their shift. Pidge told them she would be staying a bit longer to get some Altea business done with Allura. 

“Keith, do you want to walk home with Lance and me?” Hunk asked, putting on his coat. Keith looked as though he were about to reject the idea. Seeing him hesitate, Lance smirked and wrapped an arm around him. 

“Yeah newbie, join us,” Lance insisted, before lowering his voice. “ _Unless you got something more important to do?_ ” 

“What are you insinuating?” Keith retorted. 

“Nothing, nothing,” Lance quickly amended, his smirk still plastered on his face. He took his arm away and held both hands up in a nonthreatening matter. “You just seem like you’re in a hurry to leave without us.” 

“Do you have somewhere to go, Keith?” Hunk asked. His question, unlike Lance’s, was more out of kindness and not wanting to be rude by pushing the new paladin to join them. “If so, it’s okay.” 

The two looked at him, waiting for his reply. Lance kept his eyes on him, wondering what he might be hiding. Keith was about to answer Hunk until he saw the curious look in Lance’s eye. He slightly bit his lip in frustration. 

“I’ll walk with you guys,” Keith replied. 

“Perfect!” exclaimed Lance. “Let’s get going, shall we?” 

The three walked out of the café and went toward the regular route. 

“So, where are you staying, Keith?” Hunk kindly asked. “Is it far?” 

“A small complex,” Keith simply answered. “Not that far.” 

“What street is it on?” Hunk continued. 

“Arus.” 

“Then you live really close to Lance,” stated Hunk before turning to his best friend. “You’re on Arus street too, right?” 

Lance nodded. Hearing that Keith was staying near him made his gut uneasy. While it would give him the opportunity to keep an eye on the ex-Galra, the same could be said for Keith. The reproachful attitude that had shown after their shift gave Lance a feeling that this new member might actually be hiding something from them. Hunk continued to try and make conversation, but with Keith giving 1 to 3 word sentences as answers, no topic went too far. Eventually, the three reached the intersection where Hunk had to say goodbye to the two. 

For a few moments, Lance and Keith silently walked side by side toward Arus street. If they were not side by side, anyone would have mistaken the two as being strangers toward each other. Keith kept his eyes forward, as if pretending that the person beside him did not exist. Lance took in the sights of the people passing by them and the buildings they passed before finding the silence between them too annoying to handle. 

“So you been living on Arus long?” Lance asked. 

“No.” 

“Just moved there huh?” 

“Yeah.” 

“Figures. After leaving Galra, I suppose you really couldn’t stay in the same place they know you live at.” 

“I’ve been meaning to find a new place anyway,” Keith answered. Lance was surprised to hear a longer answer than usual. 

“Oh really?” 

“The old complex I lived in was pretty shady. But it was cheap, so I stayed until the place became too dangerous. Apparently _some_ group of punks decided it would be a good idea to **bomb** it.” 

Lance let out a small laugh, realizing the Galra had used their apartment complex base to house their men. As they turned onto Arus street, Lance looked for the other complex that Keith would be staying at, but found that there was only one apartment complex. 

“Wait a second…..you live here?!” Lance exclaimed, pointing to his own complex. 

“Yeah,” Keith answered, entering it. “You live here too right?” 

Keith turned to see Lance standing in shock. This sight made him slightly smirk. 

“Oh, what’s wrong?” Keith asked, slightly mocking him. “ _Not happy to have me staying here with you?_ ” 

“T-That’s not it….why would I be mad at that?” Lance fought back, trying to compose himself. 

“Well good, because if I’m correct, we’re actually neighbors,” Keith informed him, showing Lance his apartment key with the apartment number 407 etched on it. Lance let out a small cuss, remembering his own apartment number being 406. 

“H-How….wait…when did you-“

“Allura thought it would be good for me to stay close to another paladin,” Keith explained softly, taking the stairs. “I wasn’t too thrilled myself when I learned it was you who I was stuck with.” 

As the two reached the fourth floor, Lance was thinking of different ways he could talk to Allura to change this matter. In each scenario in his head, every ending lead to his ass being stuck in more 60-hour overtime weeks. 

“Fuck….,” Lance sighed. 

“Bye,” Keith quickly spoke, opening the door to his apartment to leave Lance on his own. Lance was not going to drop this topic. He stopped Keith from closing the door. 

“Hold up, we need to talk about this…this….fuck up situation,” he insisted. 

“Why?” asked Keith, puzzled. “There’s nothing to talk about it. I live in the apartment next to you and that’s it.” 

“No it’s not, we need to- STOP TRYING TO CLOSE THE FUCKING DOOR!” he cussed as Keith kept inching his door shut. A few people heard the shouting and Lance slightly smiled at them before turning back to Keith. “ **Let me in.** ” 

“No-“

“I’m coming in,” Lance interrupted, barging in. He looked around to find that the apartment still looked as though no one lived in it. The small living room had one chair and a small excuse of a coffee table. As for the kitchen, while there was a stove and a fridge, had almost no cookware. All that Lance could see was a single spoon, fork, and plate. On the stove was one lonely pan that looked like it hadn’t been used in years. “ _Dios mio_ , I thought my place was depressing…”

“What do you mean?” 

“What do you mean what do I mean?! Keith, this place is bare skeletons! You could pack all your stuff in Allura’s purse and leave in 1 minute! For fucks sake, you don’t even have bedsheets….”

“I don’t get that cold,” Keith justified. “Look, I need you to leave my place.” 

“Not before I lay down some rules.” 

“Rules?” 

“First off, no snooping uninvited into my apartment.” 

“Like you’re doing right no-“

“No weird shit.” 

“Wait…wha-“

“Don’t talk to the other people who live in this complex. Best they don’t know anything about us if we end up having to find a new place to live.” 

“That’s fair.” 

“And if I hear anything shady going on, you bet your ass I’m going to bust in and knock you the fuck out. You are still on thin ice with me. Just give me one reason to mess you up, and you’re dead. You got all that?” 

“ **Lance** ,” Keith spoke, exhausted from what was transpiring. He ran his hand through his long jet black hair. “Can we just agree to pretend we don’t know each other here? I stay quiet in my place. You stay quiet in your place.” 

The two stared at each other for a moment. Both were tired from the long day of work and tomorrow was just going to bring another long day. Lance, while he usually was ready to argue and fight, decided that Keith got the gist of his threats. 

“….fine,” Lance agreed. “But get some goddamn bedsheets or something. This place looks dead.” 

Lance left the apartment and went to his own. He toss his keys on his night stand before lying face down in his bed. This situation was becoming more annoying with each hour. He had hoped to escape Keith and his stupid face when going home. Even now, his thoughts could not turn away from the idea of the ex-Galra living feet away from him. The room that he had seen left him with some sense of pity toward the guy. He knew that Galra soldiers were taught to be heartless, but were they really raised to live in such dread conditions? He shut his eyes tight trying to clear his mind. For a few seconds, it worked. All that was going through was the sound of the cars passing by outside and the sound of his other neighbors talking and walking around. He pondered of whether or not he would be able to hear Keith walk around his apartment next door. 

I wonder what he’s doing right now. 

Lance looked up, surprised by his random thought. Why was he still thinking about Keith? Even worse, why was he curious about Keith’s actions in a form that was separate of suspicious? Frustrated, he pulled the bedsheets over his head and tried to take a short nap, where he knew he would be free from Keith. 

After what seemed like seconds, his phone woke him up. It was buzzing loudly on the nightstand. Lance picked it up to see that it was almost 10pm. His ‘nap’ had turned out to be longer than expected. Checking his messages, he found a text from Allura. 

**The Den. 11pm. Recon.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WE ARE BACK IN ACTION PEOPLE! I know you've really missed the mission aspects of this fanfic. I'm surprised this has taken some time, but get excited for Lance's new mission~
> 
> Again, follow the tumblr blog: http://theroarthatcannotbeignored.tumblr.com/
> 
> So that you can get reports on the progress of the next chapter and find out when the next one will come out! Finals are coming up and I've been a busy bumble bee. Still, I will be releasing one chapter a week at the least. I hope you enjoyed this chapter.


	7. Recon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance goes on a mission with Keith for the first time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoy! Thanks for your patience! And leave a kudo or comment if you enjoyed it!

* * *

Lance entered the Lion’s Den at its closing time and gave Shiro a quick hello wave. Shiro, cleaning up the bar nodded back at him and continued taking care of the remaining bar patrons. Making his way toward Allura’s office, the blue paladin found that Pidge was in the storage room typing away on her laptop. He didn’t want to bother her, seeing that she was intensely engaged in her work. Instead, he kept walking and softly knocked on the office door.

“Enter,” commanded Allura. Lance obeyed and stepped into the room to see that Allura was not alone in her office. Keith was leaning against one of the bookshelves in the office. The two regarded each other with a casual grimace which was cut by Allura. 

“Now that both of you are here, I can give you your mission for tonight,” she informed. “Lance, Coran reported to me how successful you were in helping Keith get instated into the café. I was planning to hold off this mission for a week, but you’ve assured me that you can handle new challenges swiftly.” 

Lance could not help but feel elated at the compliment. It was not every day that he got praise from Allura. It was even better to see that his work was acknowledged in front of Keith. Getting a bit cocky, he slightly smirked. 

“Well, of course, _I can handle whatever you give me_ ,” he slightly boasted. Allura gave him a ‘don’t push it’ look before taking out a small folder from her desk. 

“As I was saying, with Keith’s quick acceptance into the team, I believe we can start with reconnaissance missions,” she continued. Allura turned to Keith with her cool serious stare. “Keith, the most common jobs done by Altea is recon. We work on getting proper information long before taking any actions. This reason being why we were interested in accepting you in our group. I’m sure that you passed by Pidge on the way here.” 

Keith nodded, keeping silent. Lance decided to take a seat near Allura’s desk as she opened the file. 

“Pidge has picked up new communication signals coming from one of the dry docks at the eastern port. Do you know which dock may be the one under Zarkon’s control?” 

She passed him a map depicting the multiple shipping docks. Keith studied it for a moment before grabbing a nearby pencil and circling one of the buildings. 

“From what I recall, Galra has access to this establishment that used to be part of Voltron’s fishing industry,” Keith answered. “But…..”

“But what?” Lance asked, seeing his hesitation. 

“Galra hasn’t used this building since its fight against Altea. It’s been abandoned for a long time.” 

“Well, since we did bomb their apartment base, maybe they’re running out of places to group up,” Lance suggested. “They might just be forced into using old bases.” 

“Highly unlikely,” Keith dismissed, which earned him a scowl from Lance. “Zarkon has a lot of property.” 

“Then there’s the possibility that Galra is planning something new with this old base,” Allura said, joining back into the conversation. “I am sending you two to sweep the area, plant scouting tech, and report any unusual activity. I trust that you two can handle this mission, giving its short notice?” 

“Yes,” both answered. 

“Good. Lance, make sure Keith has proper equipment. When you are ready to head out, inform Coran so that he can transport you to the eastern coast. And remember…..neither of you are to be detected by any of Zarkon’s men should they be there. **Remain undetected**.” 

Lance nodded and turned to Keith. 

“Come on, lets suit up,” he simply ordered, deciding to take command. Keith raised a brow, but did not oppose and followed Lance into the café changing rooms that normally held their work uniforms. This time, instead of the café aprons, a set of black clothes were prepared for them. Lance took no hesitation in changing into his black attire before looking at Keith who seemed more reluctant to change in front of him. “What? You embarrassed or somethin-“

Lance quickly paused when Keith had taken off his shirt. He was lean and nicely toned with just enough muscle to be intimidating. Lance would might have appreciated this sight more if it weren’t for the scars. Around his back and chest, Keith’s skin had multiple nicks and scars that Lance could only suspect were from Galra training and missions. In fact, the only time Lance had ever seen so many crudely healed wounds was when he first met Shiro. For the next minute, Lance kept his mouth shut and turned away to let Keith change in peace. He grabbed his vest and made sure it was stocked with the usual essentials. Keith was not given a black vest like Lance’s, but had a utility bag that hugged his right thigh. Dressed and ready to head out, Lance and Keith went to the storage room to see Coran waiting for them. Pidge was standing next to him carrying a small bag. 

“You got me a present?” Lance teased her. Pidge gave him a warning glare before opening the bag. 

“They’re recording devices,” she explained. “If the place looks like a base, plant these so that I can retrieve video of Galra activity.” 

Not bothering to stick around to wish them luck, Pidge went back to her laptop to continue her research. Lance placed some of the devices in his vest and had Keith carry the rest. 

“Ready to go, paladins?” Coran asked the two. 

“Hold on…,” Keith paused. “Aren’t we getting weapons?” 

“There’s no need for weapons on a recon mission,” Coran answered. 

“But what if we’re caught by the Galra?” Keith asked. 

“Are you planning to get caught by Zarkon’s men?” Coran questioned. Seeing how puzzled Keith looked Lance decided to explain. 

“What Coran is saying is that Allura instructed us to check out this place and gather info by bugging the outer perimeter,” Lance informed. “We are not infiltrating nor fighting Galra, so weapons are unnecessary. At most, we got distraction devices and smoke bombs if a quick escape is needed.” 

Lance understood why Keith found this idea dangerous. In fact, when Allura had first explained this to him and the other paladins, they were all against it. But without weapons, the team has never failed a recon mission and remained out of sight in fear of being caught and forced to face Galra unarmed. Coran had the two climb into a dark van which Hunk usually operated. 

“Here, we need to put these on in case we get separated,” Lance told Keith, handing him a throat communicator. “Starting now, we’re going by code names.” 

As Coran drove towards their starting point, Lance could see that Keith was glancing at him most of the ride. Whenever Lance would look back at him though, he would turn away. After 4 times, it started to get on his nerves. 

“What? _You got something to say to me_?” Lance hissed, getting annoyed. Keith hesitated, looking just as upset as Lance. He sighed angrily and pointed to his throat comm strap that was loose. 

“I can’t get this thing on right,” he murmured, angry that he had to ask Lance for help. The blue paladin paused in disbelief, but nonetheless, got close to Keith to fix his communicator. He smirked, enjoying the fact that Keith was embarrassed from not being able to do such a simple task. 

“We’re here,” Coran told the two. “The bay is 4 blocks away down this street. When you finish, let me know and I’ll collect you two here. Until then, I’ll be outside this area. Good luck.” 

“Thanks, and will do,” Lance replied, getting out of the van with Keith. As Coran drove away, the blue paladin looked at his partner. “Cover my back as we make our way close. If you spot anything suspicious, let me know.” 

Keith nodded and followed Lance. The two snuck through small alleys and abandoned streets before locating the fishing factory. There were no lights coming from it and it looked as abandoned as Keith had mentioned. The windows were smashed and the walls were covered in colorful graffiti. Seeing the state of the building, Keith decided there was no longer any need to be vigilant and started to make his way toward the factory before Lance stopped him. 

“Hold on, don’t just walk in there,” Lance whispered. 

“But it looks empty,” Keith mumbled. 

“ _Pendejo_ , it looks empty, but we don’t know that for sure,” he reprimanded. “Like I said, stay behind me.” 

The two took their time getting closer to the factory. They found their way around the dock and hid behind a broken fishing boat that had been placed against the building, long ago forgotten. While the factory looked empty from afar, Lance could hear the voices of Galra guards arguing inside. He strained to hear what they were talking about, but their conversation was muffled. Instead, he surveyed the area to locate proper areas to attach Pidge’s tech. 

“We need to attach these at both entrances to record who’s going in and out,” he whispered to Keith. “I’ll get the back, you get the front.” 

“Got it,” Keith softly spoke. He took one of the devices from his utility bag and slowly creeped to the front entrance that was currently shut. He spotted a broken lamp post nearby and figured its position was the perfect place to attach the recording device. The small spy tech was small and easy to attach, but Keith wondered if this type of technology would work very long due to its tiny size. As he sneaked back toward the broken boat to meet with Lance, he could not help but hear the conversation between the Galra guards. 

“Is everything set up for tonight?” one asked the other. Keith paused and inched closer to the entrance to listen. 

“Yes sir,” another answered. According to his voice, Keith figured the Galra who first spoke was a higher officer. 

“Red, is your device in position?” Lance rung in from the comm. Keith ignored him to continue listening to the men inside. 

“We need everything in place for our visitors,” the commanding Galra ordered. “Make certain that the machinery is in top shape.” 

Hearing about a machine that Galra might have, Keith wanted to get inside to find out what it was. Even more so, if he got in the factory, he’d be able to listen in on whatever meeting was taking place between Zarkon’s men and their ‘visitors’. 

“Red, report your position,” Lance commanded. The red paladin stared at the factory before his eyes laid upon a broken window on the second floor of the building. He would be able to enter through it thanks to the broken off and chipped bricking on the wall that made it climbable. Not wasting time, he started up the wall. To his surprise, he only made it 3 feet up when he was pulled from Lance who looked furious. 

“ _What the fuck do you think you’re doing?!_ ” Lance chided quietly, straining to keep his voice from exceeding a whisper. “Get down from there!” 

“I’m trying to get more info, let me go,” Keith explained, but Lance was having none of it. Lance managed to pull Keith down and away from the wall, but as Keith landed on the ground, he lost some of his balance and bumped into a rotten wooden board that hit the ground. 

“ **Check the outside perimeters!** ” yelled an order from inside. Lance and Keith quickly ran back to behind the broken fishing boat to get cover. 

“We almost got caught!” Lance argued. 

“Only because you pulled me down,” Keith fought back. “They were talking about some sort of machine and visitors. I was just trying to do our mission and get more information.” 

“Infiltration is not our mission. Planting recon devices is our mission. Can’t you-“

Lance paused when he heard a guard slowly walking toward their location. Thinking quickly, he grabbed Keith’s collar and pulled him down to the ground with him. The red paladin looked at him in surprise, finding himself laying right on top of Lance. 

Not wasting time, Lance rolled with Keith into a small opening in the bottom of the boat. The two hid in its dark wreckage, only being able to see the ground from the opening they rolled in from. This time, Lance was on top of Keith. The two were so close that Keith could feel Lance’s breathing. The blue paladin looked at him with warning, placing a finger on his lips as a signal to keep him quiet. The guard nearby came closer. Keith fought to control his own breath as the boots of the guard became visible to them and stopped directly 2 feet away from them. 

The two waited in silence, praying that the guard would continue walking. Keith looked up at Lance to see his expression being intense yet calm. Lance kept his eyes on the guards feet which shuffled along after what felt like hours. Lance stayed on top of Keith for a while longer before being sure that the coast was clear. He breathed a sigh of relief before turning to Keith. He stared at him for a second before realizing how physically close they were. Feeling a strange sense of embarrassment, Lance got off him and carefully climbed out from the hole in the boat. Keith followed suit and the two took a few seconds to take in what just happened. 

“You need to be more careful,” Lance whispered to his partner. 

“Sorry.” 

He looked at Keith in slight shock of being given an apology. He decided to accept it, but something that Keith told him from before did bother him. 

“….you said they have a machine?” he asked. Keith nodded. 

“The guards were talking about visitors and getting some sort of machine ready,” Keith explained. “I thought I could find my way in and see what machine they have.” 

“Well that’s too dangerous right now,” Lance stated. “…..but…”

“But?” 

“We can stay for a while to see who these visitors are. Let’s just finish installing these scouting gadgets first. If we split again, can I trust that you won’t go off and do something reckless?” 

“Yes,” Keith assured. Taking his word, Lance instructed Keith which locations to plant before splitting up. Lance had to be extra careful with Galra goons surveilling the area after the small mishap. He placed surveillance gadgets on openings in the building which included the broken windows. As he planted the last device, he heard the sound of a vehicle approaching the factory. 

“Blue, are you there?” Keith asked from the throat communicator. 

“Yeah, meet me by the pile of shipment crates on the dock,” Lance ordered before going there himself. When he ducked behind the crates, he saw that Keith was already there, staring at the vehicle that had parked only seconds before. Lance took out a pair of night vision binoculars to get a better look as a figure stepped out of the car. He froze in shock as he realized who the person was. 

“Holy shit…..it’s one of Zarkon’s top men,” he muttered. 

“Let me see,” Keith urged, taking the binoculars. With a quick look, he grimaced. Standing by the car was a tall heavily built man dressed in a dark business suit that carried a small emblem that indicated he belonged to the Zarkon Empire. His face was rough and slightly scared with an eye patch covering his right eye. “ **Sendak**. But what is he doing here?” 

Sendak walked toward the outside guards and softly spoke before looking out to the dock. Shadowed in darkness on the Cosmos River, a small boat made its way toward the dock. On the small boat were three people; one of them hunched over in hooded purple and gold cloak. Sendak approached them as they stepped onto the harbor. Lance kept trying to get a good look at the hooded figure Sendak was talking to, but couldn’t get a good look at their face. 

“Here, let me try,” Keith suggested. Lance handed him the binoculars and continued to watch Sendak and the mysterious person make their way into the fishing factory. “…it’s too dark to see…..but the clothing that person is wearing is very familiar….”

“Familiar how?” Lance whispered. 

“They are wearing the robes of a small faction that specializes in narcotics and addictive drugs,” Keith explained. “This faction might be helping Zarkon….”

Lance did not like the idea of Galra messing with specialized drugs, especially with their resources in pharmaceutical companies. Thinking that they’ve seen enough and not wanting to delve any further in case of being caught, Lance ordered the end of their recon. 

“Let’s make our way back to base,” he instructed Keith. The paladins reported to Coran the success of their mission and left to their rendezvous area. As they waited for Coran to arrive, Lance kept an eye for any suspicious activity before looking at Keith. “Other than the small incident, I think this mission went well. But you really need to work on being so fucking impulsive.” 

“I’ll think about it,” Keith replied. “….and thanks….you know….for covering my ass from the Galra guards. But trust me, next time I won’t need you looking after me.” 

Coran pulled up to the two in the van. He waited for them to step in before driving back toward The Lion’s Den. 

“Good job boys,” Coran praised. “I’ll be taking you back to Allura to discuss what you found.” 

Lance took off his throat comm and had Keith do the same before placing them away. Lance had many questions for Keith about Sendak and the other visitor, but figured he’d ask when Allura was around so that Keith wouldn’t skirt around giving him answers. For their first mission together, he was surprised they managed to accomplish it. Of course, he would need to keep a better eye on Keith in later missions. Once back at the café, Lance and Keith entered through the back and went to Allura’s office. Pidge must have left home because she was no longer in the storage room. Entering the office, Lance found Allura sitting at her desk and reading from a file. 

“You’re back,” she commented, not looking up at them. “Please sit.” 

The two sat on chairs placed in front of her desk, almost feeling like school children who were sent to the principal’s office. 

“From what I can see, the recon was a success?” she asked. 

“Yes,” Keith answered. “Galra is using the factory as a base again and spying mechanisms have been hidden in the outer perimeters of the building. But we saw some sort of meeting going on while there.” 

Allura placed away her file to give her full attention to the paladins. 

“What did you see?” 

“One of Zarkon’s top men, Sendak was there,” Lance answered. “Keith had overheard the guards patrolling the area talking about some sort of machine and having visitors arrive. Sendak was one of them….but the other……”

“The other was wearing clothing similar to the uniform of the DC,” Keith finished. 

“What is the DC?” Lance asked, curious about the mysterious faction.

“The Druid Consortium,” Allura informed softly. “Haven’t heard from them in years. I was sure Altea had their remaining members wiped out long ago.” 

“Few managed to keep low enough and they reformed after Zarkon ‘erased’ Altea,” Keith continued. “They are not as strong as they once were, but if that faction is willing to work with Zarkon, it could lead to more chaos in the city. As for the machine they were talking about, it was inside the factory, so we could not see what it was or its purpose.” 

“But taking into account that Sendak and the DC are working together on it, it can’t be good,” Allura murmured. Satisfied with this information, she dismissed the two. “With our technology survieling them, it won’t be long until we’ve collected enough information to stop this new alliance. As a reward for your hard work you may go home and rest. I will not have you working at the café tomorrow, so take that time to recuperate. Still, I will be needing the both of you to fill out a report on tonight’s recon and any recollection of what you saw in complete detail. Make sure you turn that into me tomorrow. Until then, you are free to go.” 

The two paladins left the office and went to the changing rooms to get into their normal attire. Lance tried to give Keith privacy to change, but for some reason, found it difficult to not sneak a glance every so often. With their mission complete, there was no reason for the two to converse. When they exited the café to leave back toward the apartments, it was 4 am. The streets were deserted and the two did nothing but walk in silence. Along the way back to the apartment complex, Lance couldn’t help but feel as though he was supposed to say something to Keith. If this mission had been with Hunk, Shiro, or even Pidge, Lance would be blabbering on about how great they did or proposing to celebrate a mission success with food and drinks. But he hardly knew Keith. Worse, he couldn’t quite feel close to Keith due to their unfortunate first meeting. Maybe if the two had met under different circumstances…..maybe if Keith had never been in Galra……maybe if they had been in the academy together like Lance was with Hunk and Pidge, maybe they might have gotten along better. Maybe Lance would be more comfortable around the newbie. Maybe he wouldn’t feel like he had to always be one upping him. 

As they reached the complex and made their way up the flight of stairs, Lance began to think of something to say to Keith that would not come off as defensive or full of criticism. Should he invite him to grab a bite? Should he offer him a drink? They reached their neighboring apartments and as Lance got out his key and unlocked his door, he thought about at least telling Keith a “See ya” or “Great job today”, but he just couldn’t muster the words. He paused as he placed his hand on the door handle. Lance looked to his left, and in pure coincidence, Keith looked at him at the same time. The two stared at each other unsure whether to say goodbye or goodnight. Instead, they both turned away and entered their apartments in silence, as if they were simply strangers. After closing the door, Lance leaned against it and sighed. That did not feel right. Keith was part of Altea now. He needed to be treated as a partner now. Continuing to treat the guy with suspicion and disdain was only going to bring more problems. In his determination to fix the awkward silence between them, Lance opened his door to go to Keith’s apartment and at the very least give him a proper goodbye. But when he opened the door, he was already being greeted with the new paladin standing outside, looking as though he were about to knock. 

“Oh…hey,” Keith softly addressed him. 

“Hey.” 

“I just-……well when you were at my-…….you forgot this at my place,” Keith explained, handing Lance a small card. Lance grabbed it to see that it was a punch out coupon card for the gyro place that he and Hunk go to. It must have fallen out of his pocket when he had argued with Keith about him being his new neighbor. 

“Thanks,” Lance replied, before seeing that Keith was still standing there. Seeing that fate was giving him a second chance at giving Keith a proper chance to get a better understanding of him and giving him a good parting, he took it. 

“You wanna grab something to eat tomorrow?” he offered. “Ya’know…to celebrate your first mission? I have a coupon card.” 

Keith blinked in surprise, but slightly smirked at Lance’s offer. 

“Sure,” he answered. “Plus, we can get our recon reports done together.” 

“And, of course, you need _me_ to help you with that,” Lance commented with a smirk of his own. “Then I’ll stop by your place around noon.” 

“Okay then,” Keith agreed before turning away to leave back to his apartment. 

“Goodnight neighbor,” Lance said. 

“Night,” echoed Keith. 

And just like that, Lance was feeling a bit more hopeful about the new team member of Altea. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So in case ya'll didn't see my tumblr post, I got extremely ill after failing to watch my health during finals week. But I'm all better now and am back after a very brief two weekish hiatus. As a thank you for being so kind and patient in waiting for this chapter, I made it double the usual length and full of Lance and Keith. 
> 
> To keep up with any updates or progress on when the next chapter will be released, go ahead and check out my tumblr blog for this fanfic: http://theroarthatcannotbeignored.tumblr.com/ 
> 
> You can search for the tag #The Lion's Den to find any news on when the next chapter will be released.


	8. What's your Story? (pt. 1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While Lance and Keith go eat in celebration of their first mission success, they get on topic about how Lance first joined Altea.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy! Leave a Kudo or a comment if you do!

* * *

Lance awoke to the sound of his phone alarm going. The late night he spent on the recon mission had tired him out and he was thankful to have the day off to sleep in. Sadly, he had to make sure that his time spent sleeping would not cause him to miss his lunch with Keith.

He got out of bed to get undressed and step into the shower. The steam and hot water helped clear his senses and by the time he stepped out, he was fully awake. With a towel wrapped around his waist, he searched through his closet for something clean to wear. Lance grimaced, noticing that it was about time for him to do some laundry. In the end, he picked out a t-shirt and blue jeans to wear with his own little signature olive drab jacket. Looking at the time, he noticed that it was 15 past 12. He shoved his cell, wallet, and keys in his pocket before leaving the apartment. Lance only needed to take a few steps to find himself in front of Keith’s door. He knocked and waited. After no answer, he knocked again. At this point, Lance got annoyed. He banged his fist on the door once more before it finally opened to show a disheveled Keith, squinting at him. He was in a t-shirt and boxers with his long black hair in a mess.

“ _Were you still asleep?_ ” Lance asked him, surprised. “It’s already noon.”

“mmpf,” Keith answered before leaving the door open and going back into his apartment. Taking the murmuring as an invitation, Lance entered the room and waited for Keith to get ready. 

“I take it you’re not a morning person?” Lance called, taking a seat on the one chair in the ‘living room’. He scanned the apartment from his seat and took notice of the new bedsheets on Keith’s bed. He smirked, realizing the guy must have taken his order seriously. Keith stepped out of the bathroom with the same t-shirt on, but was at least wearing pants now and his hair was fixed….somewhat. 

“Sorry, guess I slept past my alarm,” Keith explained, pulling on a red jacket. With a stifled yawn, he looked at Lance. “So where are we going?”

“Well first, in celebration of _your_ first mission, we’re going to one of _my_ favorite street food carts,” Lance concluded as Keith slightly smirked. “We can work on our recon report later.”

As the two made their way toward main street, Lance figured the best way to know more about Keith was to tell him about himself a bit. Not sure about where to start though, he asked him if there was anything Keith wanted to know about him or the rest of the group.

“Since you’re really finding your place in our team, is there anything else you’re curious about?” Lance asked. “I know we answered a few questions you had back at the café.”

“Yeah, I still have a few,” Keith pointed out. As they turned the corner, Keith got a bit closer to Lance so that only he could hear him talk. “So the girl in our team…..Pidge….I know she’s still not too keen on me joining. You mind if I ask why?”

“I might not be able to go too into detail, since Pidge likes to keep her past a secret,” Lance started off, shrugging. “But I can tell you that she has a personal vendetta against Galra. Zarkon took some important people from her. Since then, she’s dead set on getting them back. Don’t get too strung up on her not liking you though. She didn’t like me either when we first met. It takes a lot of time to earn her trust.”

“….and her appearance?” Keith asked, before realizing his question might have been taken the wrong way. “I mean, how she dresses-…wait not like that-“

Lance let out a small laugh.

“You mean how she wears the same café male uniform as us and how she could pass for a boy?” Lance corrected. “She’s always dressed that way since I’ve known her. Actually, she was dressed like that while we were at the academy because she wanted her identity hidden. Hunk and I actually thought she was a guy for a long time. Well…mainly just I, since Hunk says he figured it out along the way. Even when we left the academy, she stuck with her disguise.”

“ _When did you realize she was a girl_?” inquired Keith as they reached the food truck.

“Um…..2 months ago,” Lance responded, slightly embarrassed. Lance paid for two orders of gyros. When they grabbed their food, he sat with Keith at a nearby low bench. After taking a few bites in silence, Keith went back to asking questions.

“You talked about some academy. Did all of you meet at a school or something?”

“It was a police academy,” Lance clarified after swallowing his food. “Hunk, Pidge, and I were going through training to become enforcers of the law.”

“So how did you end up in the mafia business?” Keith wondered out loud. “ _Going from police men in training to members of a long dead mafia family?_ ”

“And what’s your story?” Lance asked him back. “I think I’ve talked about the group enough to get a few answers from you. How did a guy like you end up being one of Zarkon’s men?”

Keith finished his food and seemed hesitate with his answer. Lance gazed at him with questionable intent. 

“It’s complicated,” Keith spoke. Lance waited, letting his silence show that he was willing to hear the full story. Taking note, Keith sighed and continued. “I was….well…raised by Galra….kind of….”

“Kind of?”

“……I have no family,” the red paladin spoke, his voice low and holding this dark tone that Lance had never heard before. “Was orphaned. Some of Zarkon’s men found me and the rest is history. I became part of Galra.”

“I thought Galra only took people as prisoners….”

“Guess I was lucky….if you can call it that.”

Feeling the awkward silence rising between them, Lance stood up.

“Let’s go back and start on the reports,” he suggested. “Trust me. You don’t want to be on Allura’s bad side.”

Lance held out his hand to Keith to help him stand up. Keith looked at his hand for a moment before grabbing it.

* * *

“What do you think?” Keith asked Lance, showing him the first draft of his reconnaissance report. Lance scanned it silently as he drank from his coffee mug. The two were sitting down in Lance’s living room. Keith had first suggested they could work in his apartment, but the blue paladin deemed his place still too depressing to stay in.

“Looks good, but you need to start at the beginning of the mission,” Lance explained. “Basically when Coran first dropped us off, not where you started putting up the devices. Also, type out exactly what you heard, not just a summary of what the guards spoke about.”

Lance had finished his report half an hour ago, having past training in creating reports and experience in knowing what Allura expected of them. Keith nodded as he went back to revise. 

“So you never answered my question,” Keith pointed out.

“What questi-oh…. _right_ ,” Lance recalled. “The whole mafia thing….”

He paused in thought, unsure where to start. Lance figured the best way to answer was to tell Keith about an operation that went wrong.

“While in the police academy, we were constantly warned about how dangerous our life on the force could be,” he answered. “Even the simplest of operations could lead to a life threatening situation. One operation that they liked to reference a lot was Operation Kerberos. It was a simple escort operation that the police department was set to handle. Dr. Gunderson, a scientist, was to be escorted to one of the neighboring towns, Kerberos, whose main industry is drilling and mining. During the escort operation, the team was attacked by Galra. Apparently Zarkon was looking into taking over the town and its resources. The police team were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. As for what happened to the entire group….no one knew whether they were killed or taken hostage….they just disappeared…..”

* * *

_“That is why you must always remain vigilant in every situation,” stressed a sergeant. “Never let your guard down! You cannot afford to make mistakes! Am I understood?”_

_“ **Sir, yes sir!** ” shouted the cadets in front. Lance stood between Hunk and Pidge amidst the others. All of them were dressed in uniform, standing tall and giving a salute. _

_“Having passed your exams and basic training, you will be serving our forces under a probation period,” the sergeant continued. “You will work on cases in your assigned teams. In that period you must prove that you are vigilant. Prove that you are careful of mistakes. Prove that you are worthy to be called an officer of the law.”_

_The group was dismissed. Lance walked with Hunk and Pidge out of the building with Pidge fuming._

_“Don’t make mistakes my ass,” she cussed. “The officers made no fucking mistakes in the operation. It was the **higher ups** fault for not getting enough information on the town to see that it was under Galra radar. Sergeant’s a piece of shit.” _

_“Woah, Pidge, chill,” Lance suggested. “Don’t get so wound up, and don’t let the sergeant hear you say that. We could get in trouble again.”_

_“But aren’t we always in trouble?” Hunk asked. “I mean, we just barely made the cut to continue to the probation period.”_

_“Am I the only one in a good mood here?” Lance questioned. “Because you two are being some party shitters- Hey Pidge! Where you goin’ man?”_

_“I’m going to go home!” Pidge shouted, having already ran off. “I’ll see you two tomorrow morning!”_

_Lance and Hunk grabbed a bite to eat before going to their shared apartment nearby. As Pidge had promised, in the morning when they arrived in uniform to be given a case, she was already working on grabbing more information._

* * *

“ **Hold on** ,” Keith interrupted, looking up from his work. “If you guys were becoming police officers, why were you working on cases? I thought officers just patrolled areas and did random security duties…”

“We were part of the academy division that carried on to become detectives,” Lance explained. “In order to become a detective in our city, there was police academy training and the probationary period to pass. While on probation, our division was given simple cases to solve. After probation, our progress as an individual and as a team are judged by the higher ups. If we fail to pass probation, it’s back to the beginning with academy training. If we get good marks, we start low level detective work with the department.”

“I see….”

“So, where was I?”

“Your first case.”

“Oh! Right…”

* * *

_“So what do we have?” Lance asked as he walked up to Pidge._

_“Nothing I can’t handle,” Pidge answered, showing Lance the folder which carried a distorted photo of a perp, a few testimonies, and a map. “Some John Doe has been spotted selling narcotics to teens a few blocks north of Central. It’s a small drug arrest we’ll be operating today. By the looks of it, he’s been spotted during the afternoon hours. I suggest we get a head start by prepping and staking out in a vehicle nearby this alley which will give us a perfect view of the streets that he’s been spotted at.”_

_“Sounds like a good plan,” Lance commented. “Hunk, you’re driving.”_

_A few hours later, the three were sitting in a parked car, keeping watch on the citizens passing by. Pidge had lost interest searching for the perp and laid back to get some rest while Lance and Hunk kept their eyes open. After what felt like forever, Hunk squinted at a person emerging from one of the nearby alleys._

_“Hey, I think I found him,” he stated._

_“Where?” Lance asked as him and Pidge looked around. Hunk pointed to the figure of a young man leaning on a wall and keeping his gaze down._

_“He does look like the person captured in the photo,” Pidge commented before taking a closer look. “…hold on…..who is he talking to?”_

_Nearby the young man was another dark figure. This new stranger was taller and more built, but his face was difficult to see._

_“A customer?” Hunk suggested._

_“No…..he’s not buying anything….just talking,” Pidge spoke softly. Being quick, she grabbed a pair of binoculars and took another look. Their John Doe was conversing with the stranger and shaking his head at him. While the larger man’s face was still covered, she could see that there was a mark on the back of his neck. “Holy shit….I think it’s a Galra.”_

_“What? You’re definitely seeing things,” Lance jeered. “Galra can’t be in this city.”_

_“The man near our perp has a tattoo on his neck,” Pidge explained._

_“So what? That doesn’t mean he’s a Galra,” Lance scoffed._

_“Idiot, it’s not some any dumb tattoo, it’s the Mafia’s sigil,” she hissed._

_“Umm guys, the large dude is leaving,” Hunk pointed out. Pidge looked though the binoculars again to find that Hunk was right. The Galra was walking away from their drug seller._

_“We need to follow him,” Pidge urged. “He might be supplying our John Doe with the narcotics.”_

_“But that’s not our case,” Lance reasoned. “We need to handle our John Doe first. We’ll get more information from him if we arrest him anyway.”_

_“But what if we don’t?” Pidge asked. “This could be our one shot to capturing one of Zarkon’s men. If the Galra are in this city, it means Zarkon has his eyes on it. Don’t you want to stop what happened to Kerberos from happening here?”_

_For extra measure, Pidge decided to throw in more incentive for Lance._

_“Just think of what the Sergeant will say when we come back to the station with a Galra in custody,” she implied. Imagining the praise he would receive made Lance more accepting of Pidge’s suggestion._

_“He would totally flip out,” Lance smirked. “Hell, we might not have to go through probation.”_

_“But it sounds too risky,” Hunk spoke, being the only voice of reason. Before he could convince the two to try and focus on arresting their assigned perp, Pidge was already out of the vehicle. Lance followed suit and with a sigh, Hunk went after the two._

_Lance went into an alleyway with Pidge who was trying to locate where the Galra goon had disappeared to._

_“Over here,” she whispered, seeing someone turn into another small backstreet further up ahead. As they got closer, they found that the one Galra was not alone. He had caught up with a small group of men who spoke in soft, low voices._

_“There’s more of them…,”Pidge whispered._

_“Should we call for back up?” Hunk heavily suggested._

_“They’re running away!” Lance hissed. “I think we’ve been spotted!”_

_The three quickly followed the group of Galra who had ran into a shopping center in a rush. The goons disappeared into the building, knocking down shoppers nearby. Before Lance and the others could reach the front door of the building, they were thrown back from a blast so strong that every window of the building shattered. A loud deafening boom followed with it, causing them to go nearly deaf. Disoriented from the sudden and random explosion, Lance looked up to see smoke and destruction. There were screams coming from all around the streets. In a panic, he looked around to find Hunk and Pidge. His partners were also struggling to make sense of what was going on. Hearing the screams of citizens bought Lance back to a state of focus and caution._

_“ **We need to help anyone still in that building!** ” he shouted at Hunk and Pidge. He got up and made his way into the shopping center to find any survivors. Pidge followed him while Hunk had called in for back up. Going through the wreckage, Lance called out to find anyone who needed help. That’s when he noticed a man was standing in the middle of the wreckage, looking confused and in a state of shock. _

_“ **Sir!** ” Lance called. “ **Are you okay?!** ”_

_The man turned to Lance and that was when he froze up. Lance stared at him in awe and confusion. Pidge had caught up to his fellow partner and also stared in shock at the person in front of them._

_It was Takashi Shirogane. The commanding officer from the Kerberos Operation._

* * *

“….so on your first case, you ended up finding Shiro?” Keith asked, taking a break from his report to get a glass of water.

“Yeah….we were all in shock,” Lance replied. “I mean….Shiro was a well-known man and the true definition of a law abiding officer. His disappearance had left the PD in disarray.”

“So his sudden appearance must have been great for the city,” Keith stated.

“Not…exactly,” Lance corrected. “Yes, it was great to see that he was alive, but in the circumstances he was found in….were not the best.”

“What do you mean?”

“The shopping district was in shambles. A lot of people were hurt, some even killed from the blast. When police arrived and saw that Shiro was there in the middle of it all, it raised more questions than joy.”

“….they thought he caused the blast…didn’t they?” Keith inquired, surprised. “ _But how could they?_ Didn’t the force think he was the greatest officer?”

Lance sighed, thinking about that day. Knowing what he knew now, the memory just made him angry.

“Shiro was a mental mess,” he explained. “Kept spouting strange stuff like “Altea” and “Lions”. When paramedics arrived to take care of him, they were shocked to find the deep scars he bore, the crude healing of his amputated arm, he strange prosthetic he wore……….and a tattoo on his right shoulder.”

“….he was tattooed with Zarkon’s sigil,” Keith muttered, putting it all together. Keith was never branded with the tattoo. In fact, a lot of members were given the option of rejecting the mark if they wanted to. Still, Zarkon’s most loyal followers were more than happy to permanently ink their skin and show pride in being part of Galra. “So what happened then?”

“Shiro was arrested and charged for terrorism…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry to leave it at a (sort of) cliffhanger. Had to split this chapter into two parts. Anyway, I hoped you like it! Also, if you want to know when the next chapter will be out, follow the blog to this fanfic:
> 
> http://theroarthatcannotbeignored.tumblr.com/
> 
> Here I post the progress on ongoing chapters and let you know when they will be posted up. Until then, Happy Holidays!


	9. What's your Story? (Pt. 2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance tells Keith how the group first met Shiro.

* * *

“ _Terrorism?_ ”

Keith had paused from editing his report, full of disbelief. Lance refused to look straight at him. Instead, he looked at the window, watching the city move. The pedestrians walked by on the sidewalk outside the apartment complex. They moved in crowds, their conversations getting louder while cars honked in standstill traffic. Rush hour was in effect and people were in a hurry to get home. This city was louder than the usual bustling noise back in his home town. Once again, he was getting the familiar feeling of homesickness. Recalling the past made this soft sorrow start to envelope his heart. 

“Lance?” 

Keith’s voice broke through the lingering cloud of depression that was fogging his mind. Lance turned back to him and gave him a quick smile. 

“Sorry, where was I?” Lance asked, getting back on track. Keith gave him a stern stare, wondering what was really going on in his partner’s mind. Still, he was interested in knowing the rest of the story and decided to give the blue paladin a three word recap. 

“..Shiro got arrested.” 

* * *

_Lance sat at the group’s desk at the PD facility, rubbing his forehead that was still aching from the blast. The building was almost empty, with many officers still at the shopping center. He glanced at the computer monitor to see the time. It had been only 6 hours since the bombing of the West district mall. Yet, to Lance, it felt like a decade. But in some ways, it felt like it only occurred seconds past. He closed his eyes as the throbbing in his head began to escalate once more._

_When Pidge and Lance found Shiro standing confused and dazed, the previously missing well-known officer had nearly collapsed. The two helped him stand and struggled to take him outside of the mall to safety until backup arrived. Sadly, the rest of the force did not see Shiro’s health as priority number one. While Lance was more in shock at seeing the arrest of Shirogane to move, Pidge fought against their fellow officers, calling the arrest “fucking bullshit”. The team’s involvement in the matter was a larger mess than they could ever expect. After being looked after by paramedics, all three were heavily questioned for details on what occurred. At first, the higher ups were beyond furious to hear that the team ditched their assigned case to pursue a group of could-be Galra members. But that was not the worst part…._

_After all the questioning, in some strange twist of fate, the three ended up being praised by the rest of the force for being on scene to try and stop Takashi Shirogane. In fact, they were the ones headlined to have arrested Shiro and rise up as their city’s new heroes. The one that took this the worst was Pidge, who had fought against the arrest. For their ‘outstanding work’ they were to be at a press release the next day and accept awards that were to be presented to them. Lance had always dreamt of being a great hero to his city, but never like this. While he did not know Shiro personally, he knew the charges being pressed on the man were unjust._

_Lance looked up at Hunk and Pidge who carried the same expression of impending doom and confusion. Hunk had not spoken at all since the explosion. During interrogation, it was Pidge and Lance who had to explain everything. Lance worried that the shock from witnessing the injuries and deaths of several civilians may have traumatized his best friend._

_“…Let’s get some rest,” Lance suggested to the two._

_“How can we?” Pidge asked him. “….how can anyone rest after what just happened…..”_

_Before Lance could reason with Pidge, they had gotten up and left. Lance turned to Hunk and slightly patted his back._

_“..let’s go home, big guy,” he spoke softly. Hunk nodded and followed Lance. They made it to their shared apartment nearby and sat down in familiar silence. “..Are you okay, Hunk?”_

_Hunk broke away from his train of thought and looked at Lance._

_“…yeah,” he answered. “It’s just….so much happened…I think I’m still trying to….take it all in?”_

_“I know what you mean,” Lance agreed. “I think we just need to clear our heads a bit. I only hope Pidge does the same.”_

_“Lance, what’s going to happen to Shiro?” Hunk asked him. Lance did not expect this question. At least, he did not expect it this soon. It was absurd to think that Shiro would be found guilty of terrorism, but he had a feeling that the odds against him were great._

_“Yo no se, hermano,” Lance truthfully answered. “Pero we’ll just have to wait and see…”_

_That night, Lance had the hardest time shutting his eyes to get some sleep. Whenever he closed his eyes, the bright lights and crashing windows from the blast would replay. He opened his eyes with a start when he heard loud banging coming from the apartment door. Annoyed, he got up and went to see who was visiting him and Hunk so late. To his surprise, Hunk was already at the door. He opened it and Pidge came into the apartment, wearing dark clothing and a backpack._

_“Pidge?” Lance asked. “What’s going on? It’s 2 am…”_

_“I need your help,” Pidge explained. Hunk and Lance looked at each other for confirmation that they heard their short team mate correctly. Pidge needing help was extremely rare and it was strange to hear them ask for it. Nevertheless, Lance took this explanation seriously._

_“What do you need help with?”_

_“ **We’re going to break Shiro out.** ”_

* * *

“How the hell did you three manage to do that?” Keith asked, finally finishing his mission report. He handed his laptop over to Lance to check it through once more. 

“With a lot of luck,” Lance answered, reading the report. Satisfied with his work, he gave Keith a quick thumbs up. Keith relaxed in relief and took back his laptop to e-mail it to Allura. “Pidge knew every security detail of the place they were holding Shiro. It was a small fortified medical facility that was normally used to treat people who got cases of new diseases.” 

“Wouldn’t it be dangerous for Shiro to be treated there?” Keith questioned. 

“It would, but it was empty at the time,” Lance informed him. “There weren’t any patients being treated there so it was being used by medical students before Shiro’s arrest. Instead of a holding cell, they placed him in the facility because of his…well….mental state. That and to examine the strange prosthetic he had for an arm.” 

“Strange?” 

“It’s made with technology only found accessible from medical corporations under control of Galra. Authorities worried that there might have been another weapon inside the prosthetic, but the tech was way too advance for any doctor or engineer to open up. Anyway, Pidge explained to us that Shiro was definitely innocent and needed our help, so Hunk and I agreed to break him out.” 

“Just like that, huh?” 

“ _What do you mean?_ ” Lance asked Keith, not enjoying the slightly condescending tone. The red paladin closed his laptop before speaking. 

“You were in a position to be the city’s hero, weren’t you? Didn’t you think about what would happen if you helped Shiro escape?” 

“Of course I did,” Lance slightly hissed. “….Hunk and I knew that breaking Shiro out would make us criminals. Our chance of being part of the force would vanish. The time I spent trying to make something out of myself would be wasted. But……it just wasn’t right, Keith. If you had seen how he looked…if you saw how damaged he was…if you were there….you would know that he was innocent. He did not deserve to be treated that way. Plus, if we got him out, we would get more information on what really happened there and what happened to him and more about the crew from the Kerboros case and Zarkon’s plans. There was so much at stake and if we left him there, either he’d be sent to court and found guilty, or Zarkon would have made sure he was ‘taken care of’. None of us could have let that happen Keith. If we were going to be shunned for our actions, then we were prepared for it. **I’d rather be a hero people see as a criminal than a criminal people see as a hero.** ” 

Lance did not realize that he got so worked up that he was standing in front of Keith, staring at him with an aggressive glare. He took a deep breath and sat back down. 

“…..what happened after you guys got to Shiro?” Keith inquired, breaking the short silence between them. 

“…we got caught.” 

* * *

_“Quick, he should be right over here,” Pidge instructed Lance and Hunk. The three were making their way down one of the halls in the facility. Pidge had managed to shut down security cameras and get them through high security clearance doors. Lance and Hunk were in charge of taking down police guards and keeping an eye out for any medical staff to avoid. After all, they did not want to end up hurting any doctors or nurses. With information gathered from police radios, they determined the room that Shiro was being locked in. The room was guarded by three officers who were getting suspicious after not being able to get responses from fellow guards. Lance decided to create a distraction by knocking down a cabinet of medical supplies. The police made their way toward them. When they passed the small hall the three were hiding in, Lance and Hunk stepped up and knocked them out._

_“Sorry,” Hunk told the unconscious officers before following Lance and Pidge into the room. The assigned room looked like any normal hospital room. Shiro was laying down on a medical bed, his arms and legs strapped to it. The poor guy was groaning, but was too weak to struggle against his binds. Pidge went straight to him and started to loosen the straps._

_“Shiro, can you hear me?” Pidge asked him. Not getting a clear answer from him, they cussed. “Guys, help me free him.”_

_Lance helped Pidge get Shiro out of his constraints as Hunk kept a look out. Shiro was still out of it, but Pidge suggested that he might have been heavily medicated._

_“We need to get him out of here,” Pidge urged. “Hunk, Lance, help carry Shiro.”_

_“Where are we going to take him?” Hunk asked._

_“….I don’t know,” Pidge answered earnestly._

_“Wait, didn’t you think this through!?” Lance questioned. “I thought you had a plan worked out.”_

_“I honestly did not think we would make it this far. But we don’t have time to argue. Let’s get him out of this facility. Hunk, do you still know how to hotwire a car?”_

_“Holy shit, you can hotwire a car, Hunk?” Lance asked his roommate._

_“Uhhh I think so,” Hunk told Pidge before looking at Lance as they got Shiro. “And yeah, but I’ve never told anyone…how did you know that Pidge?”_

_“The halls are clear, let’s go,” Pidge ordered, ignoring Hunk’s question. They barely took a few steps out of the room before alarms went off. Pidge cussed, realizing that their breakout was going to be ten times harder. Hunk and Lance held Shiro up as they ran through the facility to get to an exit. Sadly, a lot of the exits were being blocked and they were now being chased by other police guards. The group managed to lose them after knocking down more medical supplies in their path._

_“Shit….,”Pidge muttered, trying to find a new exit._

_“How about we go through this window?” Lance suggested. “We’re on the third floor, but there’s some shrubs we can land on.”_

_“But what if Shiro gets hurt?” Pidge asked. Suddenly, a guard spotted them._

_“Over here!!” the guard yelled._

_“Sorry Shiro,” Pidge apologized before getting the window open and carefully pushing Shiro out. Lucky, he landed on the bushes below and appeared to still be alive. Lance and Hunk followed after, landing in the shrubs next to Shiro, who was groaning. Pidge stepped on the ledge to follow them until a guard grabbed their arm._

_“ **Pidge!** ” Hunk yelled, worried. Pidge was dangling from the window, being held by the guard. In a desperate act to escape, they took out a small knife and stabbed the guard’s arm. The guard let go in alarm, leaving Pidge to fall headfirst towards the hard ground below. Lance rushed and managed to catch Pidge before they hit the ground. _

_“Pidge, are you okay?!” Lance asked, scanning for any injuries._

_“Y-yeah, thanks,” Pidge answered, slightly shaking from the fall. “Come on, let’s get to a car so we can make a quick getaway. Lance agreed and helped Hunk take Shiro towards a nearby parking lot. Lance suggested a dark van that would have enough room for them to lay Shiro in._

_“So how do we get in?” Lance asked Pidge, waiting to see them unlock the driver’s side door. Pidge decided to take the forceful approach by climbing on top of the van and breaking the sun roof. Once in, they unlocked the vehicle. Lance brushed any broken glass away from the seats before placing Shiro in. Hunk got to the driver’s side and managed to hot wire the van. As police started making their way, Hunk drove the van away from the facility, leading into a full blown car chase. Pidge took off their backpack and searched for something to help them get away. They took out a few road spikes and climbed through the sunroof, carefully aiming before throwing them at the police car tires. Luckily, one hit its target, causing the car to spin and hit the fellow police vehicles in chase. Hunk kept his eyes on the road and took a few backstreets to shake off the cops._

_After what felt like forever, they had managed to get away. For the next few minutes, Hunk kept driving to an unknown destination as the group took some time to rest and contemplate what just occurred. Shiro was starting to come to. His groans turned into mumbling. The only word that Lance could made out from the nonsense was ‘Voltron’._

_“…..so where are we going?” Hunk asked Pidge and Lance. Lance thought for a moment before looking at Hunk._

_“You know how to get to Voltron?”_

* * *

“So we traveled to Voltron until Shiro awoke,” Lance continued. “Next thing you know, we learned about Altea, joined it, and joined the fight against Zarkon.” 

“Hold on, you’re not going to explain more about that?” Keith asked. 

“That’s not my story to tell,” Lance replied. “Telling you extra detail about that could lead to me telling you stuff Allura and Coran might like to keep secret. So I’ll let them fill you in if they ever decide to tell you.” 

“I see,” Keith said. “…so what about your city? Did you ever go back?” 

“We can’t,” Lance answered. “We’re wanted criminals back home. Once we saved Shiro and started this new life, we gave up our old ones…we can’t go back home…can’t see our families.” 

Lance turned to look at a photograph he had of his family. Keith looked at it as well. He was starting to understand why Lance seemed so bittersweet recalling the past. The blue paladin stretched his arms above his head and looked back at Keith. 

“I think that’s enough storytelling for today though,” he suggested. Going back to his flirty and silly demeanor, he gave Keith a quick wink. “Gonna have to cut this ‘ _date_ ’ short since I’m meeting up with Hunk tonight for tacos. You don’t mind, right?” 

Keith smirked a bit. 

“It’s fine,” he replied. “Thanks for helping me out with the report. I’ll see you at work tomorrow?” 

“I’ll be there,” Lance promised. The two parted ways when Lance left to meet up with Hunk. For once, Keith genuinely smiled at him when they waved goodbye which left Lance surprised by how pleased he felt. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As promised, here's the new chapter. These past two chapters were tons of fun to write. This is the last chapter for the year 2016. So happy to see this year end. With 2017, this fanfic is going to get more serious with what's in store. Thank you for reading and leave a kudo or comment if you liked it. Have a happy new years everyone!

**Author's Note:**

> So I hope this work turns out good. It's been years since I've written fanfiction. Actually I think the last time I did, it was when Quizilla was in its early stages. God I feel old. I chose to create this in Lance's POV since I feel that my personality is closer to his. Plus, I enjoy Klance and really wanted to make this fic more about them. Also, all characters are aged up to their 20's. Reasons will be seen later. While I love Klance, I like any ship in Voltron. You'll never get any shipping hate from me. I will be incorporating a lot of things from both the show and most widely accepted headcannons. Anyway, it's been years since I've written fanfiction, so I may be rusty. Thank you for reading and please look forward to the next chapter! To get more info about when the next chapter will be out, you can check my tumblr page (http://theroarthatcannotbeignored.tumblr.com/) and search for the tag #The Lion's Den


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